SAPODILLA FAMILY (SAPOTACEAE) 



214. Tortugo amarillo, false-mastic 



This tree with milky hitex is characterized by: 

 (1) elliptic to oblong, slightly shiny, yellow-green 

 leaves appearing wavy or slightly wrinkled at 

 edges, "with long slender ()etioles and yellow mid- 

 ribs; (2) numerous small yellow flowers about i/i 

 inch long and nearly % inch across, widely spread- 

 ing and 5- or 6-lobed, with somewhat unpleasant 

 odor, crowded in clusters along twigs, mostly back 

 of leaves; and (3) elliptic yellow sour fruits about 

 %-l inch long. 



Small to medium-sized evergreen tree with 

 straight trunk and dense irregular crown, general- 

 ly 15-50 feet high and 4—12 inches in diameter, 

 sometimes larger. P^lsewhere reported to reach a 

 maximum height of 80 feet and trunk diameter of 

 more than 3 feet. Bark of small trunks is smooth- 

 ish, with many small fissures and horizontal cracks, 

 gray or light l)rown, on large trunks becoming 

 thick, deeply furrowed, and splitting into plates. 

 Inner bark is whitish and bitter, with a small quan- 

 tity of white latex. The twigs are brown and hair- 

 less, light green and minutely hairy when young. 



The yellow-green petioles of the alternate leaves 

 are %-l% inches long and often slightly winged 

 toward apex. Blades are 214-414 inches long and 

 Yg-iVi inches broad, blunt-pointed, rounded, or 

 slightly notched at apex and short -pointed at base, 

 veiy slightly thickened, hairless except when 

 young, yellow green or a little paler beneath, and 

 curved upward on both sides of the midrib. 



The bright or pale yellow flowers are bonie us- 

 ually several together, sometimes single, on slender 

 stalks 1/4 inch or less in length. Calyx consists of 

 5 or 6 rounded yellow-green overlapping sepals 

 more than i/ie inch long; the yellow corolla with 

 short tube and 5 or 6 rounded widely spreading 

 lobes Ys inch long; as many yellow stamens erect 

 at apex of corolla tube opposite the lobes and al- 

 ternating with pointed deeply toothed appendages 

 (staminodes) ; and greenish-yellow pistil Vs inch 

 long with 5-cellecl ovary and short, tapering style. 

 The scientific name refers to the peculiar, strong, 

 cheeselike odor of the flowers. 



Sideroxylon foetidissimum Jacq. 



Usually 1 large brown seed is contained in the 

 berry, which is shaped like an olive. Though edi- 

 ble and consumed by animals, the fruits have an 

 unpleasant, gmiimy taste. Flowering and fruit- 

 ing and fruiting at different times during the year 

 but not continuously. 



The thick sapwood is yellowish and the heart- 

 wood is yellowish or orange. The wood is hard, 

 heavy (specific gravity 0.9), strong, and durable. 

 The goocl timber is used for construction. Else- 

 where it has Ijeen employed for boats, heavy 

 planking, furniture, and fenceposts. 



Reported to be a fair honey plant and to be 

 suitable as an ornamental for the clustered yellow 

 flowers. 



Coastal and moist limestone forests of Puerto 

 Rico, probably common in the original forests but 

 now scarce because of demand for the wood. Also 

 in Mona, St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and 

 Tortola. 



PiuLic FORESTS. — Cambalche, Guajataca, Rio 

 Abajo. 



R.AXGE. — Central and southern Florida includ- 

 ing Florida Keys and through West Indies from 

 Bahamas and Cuba to Grenada and Barbados. A 

 variety occurs also in Yucatan Peninsula of south- 

 eastern Mexico and in British Honduras. 



Other common names. — tortugo Colorado 

 (Puerto Rico); mastwood, bully-mastic (Virgin 

 Islands); caya amarilla (Dominican Republic); 

 jocuma, jocuma amarilla, jocuma blanca, jocuma 

 lechera, caguani (Cuba) ; false-mastic, mastic, 

 mastic jungleplum (United States) ; mastic (Ba- 

 hamas) ; mastic-bully (Bahamas, Jamaica) ; mast- 

 wood (Antigua, St. Vincent) ; caimite acoma (Do- 

 minica) ; acoma (Grenadines); acomat (Haiti); 

 acoma, acoma batard, acoma franc (Guadeloupe). 



Botanical synonyms. — Sideroxylon masticlio- 

 dendron Jacq., S. portoricense Urban, Masticho- 

 dendron foetidissimum (Jacq.) Cronq. The ge- 

 neric name is sometimes spelled Sideroxylum. 



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