HERNANDIA FAMILY (HERNANDIACEAE) 



52. Mago 



This tree with handsome foliage is easily recog- 

 nized by: (1) large, ovate, slightly shiny, dark 

 green leaves with long petioles attached i/o-l inch 

 above base of blade; (2) broad leaf blades 7-12 

 inches long and 4-8 inches wide, long-pointed at 

 apex and rounded at base with 5 main veins, 2 on 

 each side of midrib; (3) inconspicuous greenish- 

 white flowers finely gray hairy, less than 14 inch 

 long, borne in long-stalked lateral clusters; and 

 (■i) elliptic fruits 1-11/4 inches long inside a 

 rounded, hollow, greenish-yellow, fleshy case about 

 2 inches in diameter. 



A large evergreen tree becoming GO feet high 

 and 2 feet in diameter, thick trunks with small 

 buttresses. The light brown bai'k is smoothish, 

 slightly fissured, with small corky warts. Inner 

 bark is light brown, slightly mucilaginous and 

 bitter. The stout twigs are green and minutely 

 hairy. 



The leaves are alternate on light green, minutely 

 hairy petioles 6-10 inches long, nearly as long as 

 the blades. Surrounding the end of the petioles, 

 the blades (peltate) ai'e without teeth on margin, 

 slightly thickened, hairless or nearly so, and light 

 green beneath. 



Flower clusters (cymes) are lateral, 5-8 inches 

 long, 3-6 inches across, somewliat flattened, with 

 light green, finely gray hairy branches. Several 

 to many flowers are borne usually 3 together, 2 

 male and 1 female (monoecious), above 4 gi'een- 

 ish-white bracts 1/4-% inch long. Male flowers on 

 stalks Yg, inch or more in length are nearly % 

 inch long and broad, consisting of usually 6 slight- 

 ly thickened greenish-white sepals more than 14 

 inch long and 3 stamens each with 2 glandlike 

 yellow sterile stamens (staminodes) at base. Fe- 

 male flowers stalkless, nearly i/o inch long and % 

 inch across, consist of a cuplike base Vs inch long 

 around lower part of the inferior 1-celled ovary 

 nearly 14 inch long, usually 8 slightly thickened 

 greenish-white sepals 14 inch long in 2 sets of 4 

 each, 4 glandlike yellow sterile stamens (stami- 

 nodes), and curvecl style 14 inch long with large 

 lobed stigma. 



The swollen case around the fruit (formed from 

 the cuplike base) is about ^ie inch thick, has an 

 opening about Vo inch in diameter, is sometimes 

 tinged with red, and at maturity has a pleasant 

 mellow odor like ripe apples. The single fruit 



Hernandia sonora L. 



(drupe) within is 34-I inch broad, hard, blackish, 

 with usually S longitudinal ridges, and 1-seeded. 

 Flowering and fruiting reported at various times 

 during the year. 



Sapwoocl and heartwood are indistinguishable, 

 both grayish white with faint olive-colored .streaks 

 and numerous large darker pores. The wood is 

 lirm. soft, liglitweight (s])ecific gravity 0.29), of 

 low strength, and easily worked. It is very sus- 

 cejitible to attack by dry-wood termites and other 

 insects and to decay. Eate of air-seasoning is 

 rapid, and amount of degrade is minor. Machin- 

 ing characteristics are as follows: planing and 

 sanding are poor; shaping, turning, boring, and 

 mortising are very poor; and resistance to screw 

 si)litting is excellent. Suitable uses are light 

 boxes, crates, fi.shing floats, temporary boarding, 

 interior construction, and as a substitute for heav- 

 iei' grades of guano (balsa). However, scarcity 

 limits the use in Puerto Rico. 



Occasionally planted in the trojiics and in sub- 

 tropical Eui'ope as an ornamental. Easily propa- 

 gated from seed and gi'ows fairly rapidly if not 

 in dense shade. It is reported that the sap has been 

 used as a depilatory, removing hairs from the face 

 painlessly. 



In forests and along streams in the moist coastal 

 region of Puerto Eico. Also infrequent in cultiva- 

 tion as an ornamental and shade tree. Trees may 

 be seen along the liighway to El Yunque south 

 of Mameyes and on the road between Maricao 

 and Mayagiiez. 



PrBLic roRE.ST. — Luquillo. 



E.\NGE. — Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Eico, and 

 Lesser Antilles from St. Kitts to St. Vincent and 

 Barl)ados. Also from Mexico to Costa Rica and 

 from Colombia to Ecuador. Planted in other 

 tropical and sul)tro])ical areas, including southern 

 Florida. 



Other common n.\mes. — maga (Dominican Ee- 

 jiublic) ; hoja tamal, mano de leon, tambor (Hon- 

 duras) ; aguacatillo (Guatemala, Costa Eica) : 

 jack-in-the-box (Barbados) . 



A closely related species (Hernandia guianensis 

 .Vubl.) formerly not considered distinct is found 

 from Trinidad and Venezuela to the Guianas and 

 northern Brazil. It is called cocojoro in Vene- 

 zuela, toporite in Trinidad, and jack-in-the-box in 

 British Guiana. 



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