ANNONA FAMILY (ANNONACEAE) 



41. Haya minga 



A tree of the higher mountains, haya minga is 

 distinguished by: (1) small, leathery, dark green, 

 oblong, fragrant leaves in 2 rows on slightly zigzag 

 blackish twigs which frecjuently are almost hori- 

 zontal; (2) the greenish-yellow flowers about 11/2 

 inches across the 5 spreading fleshy petals and 

 borne singly on long stalks at base of leaves; and 

 (3) clusters of many elliptic berries about V2 ii^ch 

 long and 14 iiit'b thick from 1 flower. 



A medium-sized evergreen tree becoming 20-40 

 feet in height and 1-11/2 feet in trunk diameter, 

 rarely larger. Sometimes the trunk is buttressed 

 at base and often it is irregular in cross section, 

 much thicker on 1 side. The bark is brown and 

 rough, becoming dark and purplish black. Inner 

 bark is pink with spicy taste. The twigs are mi- 

 nutely hairy when young. 



Petioles of the alternate leaves are only Vg-l/i 

 inch long. Blades ai'e li/^-3 inches long and %- 

 lig inches wide, stiff, short-pointed or rounded at 

 apex and short-pointed at base, slightly turned 

 under at margins, and beneath yellow green with 

 veins raised. 



The flowers have a slight fragrance. Flower 

 stalks are %-li/o inches long. The calyx has 3 tri- 

 angular lobes 3/je inch long turned backwards; the 

 6 greenish-yellow, elliptic, finely hairy petals are 

 ^/^~% "icli long; there are numerous crowded 

 small stamens less than y^g inch long in a circular 



Guatteria blainii (Griseb.) Urban 



mass 14 inch across; and a central group of many 

 small pistils less than i/g inch long, each with a 

 1-celled 1-ovuled ovary. 



The fruit is composed of a cluster of many near- 

 ly stalkless, spreading, short-pointed berries, each 

 containing 1 large shiny brown elliptic seed. 

 Flowering and fruiting more than once during the 

 year. 



The sapwood is light brown or whitish. The 

 wood is hard and heavy (specific gravity 0.8). 

 Formerly it was used for construction but now 

 chiefly for posts, since few large trees remain. 



In forests of the upper Luquillo and Cordillera 

 regions of Puerto Rico. 



PtBLic rouESTS. — Carite, Guilarte, Luquillo, 

 Maricao, Susiia, Toro Negro. 



R.\XGE. — Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. 



Other common n.\mes. — negra lora, haya 

 (Puerto Rico); yaya (Dominican Republic); 

 purio fangar, purio prieto, ceda (Cuba) ; laois noir 

 (Haiti). 



Botanical synonym. — C a nan g a blainii 

 (Griseb.) Britton. 



Haya blanca {Guatterkt earnhaea Urban; syno- 

 nym Can-anga caribaea (Urban) Britton), a re- 

 lated forest tree of the Luquillo region of Puerto 

 Rico, has larger long-pointed leaves 3-81^ inches 

 long and 11/4-234 inches wide. 



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