LEGUME FAMILY (LEGUMINOSAE) 



MIMOSA SUBFAMILY (MIMOSOIDEAE; MIMOSACEAE) 



67. Cojoba 



This handsome tree with shiny, dark green, 

 feathery foliage is further characterized by: (1) 

 twice pinnate leaves (bipinnate) with numerous 

 small narrow leaflets about % inch long and less 

 than l^ inch wide; (2) the many flowers in a 

 whitish ball more than 1 inch in diameter across 

 the stamens; and (3) the conspicuous red pods 

 21/9-6 inches long and % inch in diameter, curved 

 or coiled, splitting open, twisting, and exposing 

 the several black elliptic seeds that hang on short 

 threads. 



A small to medium-sized evergreen tree attain- 

 ing 30-50 feet in height and 1 foot in trunk diam.- 

 eter. The bai-k is gray and smoothish. Inner 

 bark is whitish and bitter. The brown twigs are 

 finely brown hairy when young. 



The leaves are alternate, 5-12 inches long, with 

 greenish axes minutely brown hairy. The main 

 axis has 8-16 pairs of lateral branches (pinnae), 

 with a dot gland at base of each pair, each l)ranch 

 bearing 20—40 pairs of stalkless leaflets. Leaf- 

 lets are oblong or lance-shaped, short-pointed, 

 oblique at base, thin, hairless, paler beneath. 



There are 1-3 flower clusters (heads) at base 

 of a leaf or at a node back of leaves, on stalks 

 11/0-3 inches long, containing numerous stalkless 

 flowers. The bell-shaped 5-toothed calyx is about 

 i/s inch long; the tubular whitish corolla nearly 

 % inch long, including the 5 lobes; the many, very 

 slender, whitish stamens are about % inch long, 

 united into a tube below; and the pistil has a 

 finely hairy 1-celled ovary with slender style. 



The pods are borne singly or sometimes paired. 

 They are slightly roughened, minutely hairy, and 

 narrowed between the seeds. The elliptic seeds 

 change from shiny to dull black in color. Flower- 



Pithecellobium arboreum (L.) Urban 



ing in spring, the pods maturing in svmimer, and 

 flowering and fruiting again in autumn. 



The sapwood is whitish and hard. Heartwood 

 is dark red or reddish brown, sometimes figured or 

 with darker streaks, resembling mahogany. The 

 wood is heavy (specific gravity 0.7), strong, 

 durable, and takes a fine polish. An excellent 

 timber suited for heavy ancl interior construction, 

 cabinetwork, furniture, posts, and crossties. Re- 

 portedly employed at one time for bobbins in cot- 

 ton mills. 



As an attractive ornamental and shade tree with 

 commercial wood, this tree is worthy of more ex- 

 tensive cultivation. Also a honey plant. 



Chiefly along streams and at the base of cliffs 

 in the moist limestone region and ascending into 

 the lower Cordillera region in western Puerto 

 Rico. 



Public forests. — Cambalache, Guajataca, Mari- 

 cao, Rio Aba jo, Sustia, Vega. 



Range. — Cuba, Januiica, Hispaniola, and Puer- 

 to Rico. Also in southern Mexico and Central 

 America to Costa Rica. 



OxHiaj COMMON N.AMES. — cojobaua, cojobanilla, 

 cajoba, tamarandillo (Puerto Rico) ; abey, abey 

 heml)ra (Dominican Republic) ; moruro, moruro 

 rojo, moruro prieto, sabicu, .sabicu moiiiro ( Cuba ) ; 

 plumillo ((xuatemala) ; barba de jolote (Hon- 

 duras) ; agiiijote (El Salvador) ; tamarindo (Costa 

 Rica) ; wild tamarind, chabark (Jamaica) ; wild 

 tamarind, black tamarind, red tamarind, zopilote, 

 barba jolote (British Honduras) ; collier, poison 

 lasinette (Haiti). 



Botanical synonyms. — Cojoba arborea (L.) 

 Britton & Rose, Snmanea arborea (L.) Ricker. 



The generic name has been spelled also 

 Pifhc'colobhim. 



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