MAGNOLIA FAMILY (MAGNOLIACEAE) 



35. Laurel sabino 



Native only in tlie Luqiiillo Mountains of east- 

 ern Puerto Rico, tliis large tree is characterized 

 by : (1) yoiuig twigs and commonly the lower sur- 

 faces of the leathery, o\ate or elliptic leaves silky 

 or satiny gray green witli a dense coat of fine hairs 

 giving a gray cast to the crown of the tree; (2) 

 twigs ringed at the nodes: (3) prominent narrow 

 long-pointed terminal buds; and (4) large, showy, 

 fragrant, white flowers 3 inches across the 6 or 

 more petals, single or 2 or 3 together at ends of 

 twigs. 



An evergreen tree becoming 75 feet tall and to 

 4 feet or more in trunk diameter, with narrow 

 crown of dark green, spicy foliage. The trunk 

 typically produces numbers of new shoots or suck- 

 ers. Bark is gray, smoothish, slightly fissured or 

 rough in age, the inner bark light brown, gritty, 

 and slightly bitter. Twigs become green and 

 nearly hairless, then brown. Terminal buds 2-31^ 

 inches long are covered by a pair of united scales 

 ( stipules) , silky and gray green, enclosing the new 

 leaf and forming a ring scar upon falling. 



The leaves are alternate on silky gray -green 

 petioles %-l inch long. Leaf blades are 4—7 inches 

 long and 2-3 inches broad, short- or long-pointed 

 at apex and rounded or short-pointed at base, not 

 toothed on edges, thick, and with the upper sur- 

 face dark green and shiny. 



The flowers have 3 whitish-green sepals IV4 

 inches long and 6 or more white spreading petals 

 about 11/^ inches long, broad and rounded at apex. 

 Stamens are numerous, about 1/4 inch long, short- 

 stalked. The many pistils are % inch or less in 

 length, with 1 -celled ovary and curved style, 

 spirally arranged in a conelike center % inch long. 



The elliptic conelike fruits are about l^A inches 

 long and % i^i'^b thick, greenish, with many pods 

 ( follicles) , each splitting open and containing usu- 

 ally 2 triangular, red, fleshy seeds more than I/4 

 inch long, attached by threads. Flowering mainly 

 from April to September and maturing fruit from 

 spring to winter. 



The heartwood is very attractive olive green 



Magnolia splendens Urban 



when freshly cut, later becoiuing brown, the sap- 

 wood whitish. Growth rings and dark streaks 

 add to the figure. The wood is moderately heavy 

 (specific gravity 0.59), hard, moderately strong, 

 with a characteristic spicy pungent odor. It is 

 easy to work but susceptible to attack by dry-wood 

 termites. Rate of air-seasoning is rapid, and 

 amount of degrade is minor. Machining charac- 

 teristics are as follows: planing and sanding are 

 fair; and shaping, turning, boring, mortising, and 

 resistance to screw splitting all are good. 



The wood is used almost entirely for furniture 

 and cabinetwork. Local demand is greater than 

 the limited supply. Other suitable uses are for 

 veneer, plywood, millwork, turning, boat plank- 

 ing, construction, and carpentry. 



The spicy leaves have served as a condiment. 

 Possibly this species would be suitable as an 

 ornamental. 



Laurel sabino is native to an area where tree 

 growth is so slow that production of the timber 

 is not economical. The average trunk diameter 

 growth rate of 46 trees in the natural forest dur- 

 ing a 5-year period was only 0.06 inch per year. 

 The larger trees of the forest are undoubtedly 

 many centuries old. This, plus the fact that propa- 

 gation for planting elsewhere is difficult because 

 most seeds apparently are sterile, greatly limits 

 the future of this tree. The species will always 

 be preserved within a formally established natu- 

 ral area within the Luquillo Forest, and young 

 trees are being encouraged wherever they appear 

 naturally. Nevertheless, in most areas the old 

 overmature trees are being salvaged more rapidly 

 than they are being replaced by nature. 



Restricted to the upper Luquillo Mountains of 

 Puerto Rico, mostly within the Luquillo Forest. 



Public forest. — Luquillo. 



Range. — Known only from eastern Puerto Rico. 



Other common names. — Sabino, bella (Puerto 

 Rico). 



Botanical synonym. — Talauma splendens (Ur- 

 ban) McLaughlin. 



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