LAUREL FAMILY (LAURACEAE) 



48. Laurel geo 



One of tlie commonest laurels, this species is 

 characterized by: (1) spicy foliage, twigs, and 

 bark; (2) a very dense rounded crown : (3) ellip- 

 tic leathery leaves -i-O inches long and l^/^-Si/o 

 inches broad, tlie apex short-, long-, or blunt- 

 pointed, the base short-pointed or rounded, slight- 

 ly shiny dark green on upper surface and paler 

 beneath, often witli scattered raised dots, which 

 are insect galls; (i) branched clusters of numer- 

 ous small yellow flowers ^ig inch across near ends 

 of twigs; and (5) very many round black fruits 

 ^16 inch in diameter, in a red or brown cup % inch 

 long covered with liglit brown warts. 



A small to medium-sized evergreen tree to 50 

 feet high and 10 inches in trunk diameter. The 

 bark is brown or gray, smoothish or becoming 

 slightly fissured. Inner bark is liglit brown, with 

 bitter spicy taste. Twigs are green and finely 

 hairy when young, becoming brown, slightly 

 angled. 



The leaves are alternate on petioles %-% inch 

 long. Blades are hairless or nearly so and not 

 toothed on edges. Insect galls forming scattered 

 raised dots on the upper leaf surface are sufficiently 

 cliaracteristic of this species to serve in identifica- 

 tion. 



Flower clusters (panicles) are i-Pi inches long, 

 broad and much branched, single at leaf bases and 

 appearing terminal, the branches green, angled, 

 and finely hairy. The very many fragrant, almost 

 stalkless flowers are male and female on dilTerent 

 trees (dioecious), the calyx with fi spreading yel- 

 low or pale yellow lobes more than l\,; inch long. 

 Male flowers have 9 stamens and a rudimentary 

 pistil. Female flowers have minute sterile sta- 

 mens (staminodes) and pistil with 1-celled, 

 1-ovuled ovary partly enclosed, style, and broader 

 stigma. 



The fruits (berries) have thin flesh whicli is bit- 

 ter and spicy, covering the neai-ly round seed about 

 1/4 incli long. Flowering and fruiting irregularly 

 through the year. 



Ocotea leucoxylon (Sw.) Mez 



The sapwood is pale yellowish brown or cream 

 colored, and the heartwood uniform light golden 

 brown without figure. The wood is moderately 

 soft, lightweight (specific gravity 0.45), moder- 

 ately strong, and easily worked. It is not durable 

 and is susceptible to attack by dry-wood termites. 

 Rate of air-seasoning is moderate, and amount of 

 degrade is considerable. Machining character- 

 istics are as follows : planing, shaping, turning, 

 mortising, and resistance to screw splitting are 

 good ; and boring and sanding are fair. 



The wood is used mainly for posts but also in car- 

 pentry and construction. It is suitable for inex- 

 pensive grades of furniture and cabinetwork and 

 for interior trim, general carpentry, light con- 

 struction, boxes and crat«s, plywood, sheathing, 

 and concrete forms. A general utility wood in 

 Tobago. P^ormerly made into shingles in Jamaica. 



In Dominican Republic it is reported that the 

 fruits are an important food for hogs. 



Widely distributed in forests of the moist coast, 

 moist limestone, and lower mountain regions of 

 Puerto Rico. Also in St. Thomas and Tortola. 



Public forests. — Cambalache, Carite, Guaja- 

 taca, Guilarte, Luquillo, Maricao, Susua, Toro 

 Negro, Vega. 



Municipalities where especially common. — 

 :>;>, 62. 



Range. — Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles from 

 Montserrat to Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago. 



Other common names. — cacaillo, laurel, laurel 

 geo-geo, geo, geo-geo (Puerto Rico) ; false avocado 

 (St. Thomas) ; cigua laurel, cigua boba (Domini- 

 can Republic) ; boniato, curabara, judio, hojancha. 

 pataban de monte (Cuba) ; whitewood, loblolly 

 sweetwood (Jamaica) ; duckwood, black-cedar 

 (Trinidad and Tobago); laurier (Haiti); bois 

 doux jaune, bois doux piment, laurier fine, laurier 

 madame (Guadeloupe) ; laurier noir (Marti- 

 nique). 



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