MADDER FAMILY (RUBIACEAE) 



241. Albarillo, Caribbean princewood 



This shrub or small tree of dry areas is distin- 

 "fuishedby: (1) slender spreading branches some- 

 times without a definite crown of foliage; (2) 

 opposite, small, thin, elliptic or ovate leaves, long- 

 er short-pointed with minute sharp point at apex 

 and short-pointed at base, commonly curved up- 

 ward on both sides of midrib ; (3) large whitish or 

 pale yellowish flowers 2-2i/o inches long, with nar- 

 row corolla tube and 5 very narrow spreadinfj 

 lobes, borne singly at leaf bases; and (4) dark 

 brown elliptic seed capsules %-% inch long. 



Evergreen, 10-25 feet high and to 4 inches in 

 trunk diameter. The bark is dark gi'ay, smoothish 

 with dots (lenticels), and thin, or becoming fis- 

 sured. Inner bark is bitter and yellow, the cut sur- 

 face turning orange. The slender gray twigs have 

 leaves commonly crowded and a pair of pointed 

 bristlelike scales (stipules) % inch long fonning a 

 ring at each node. The nodes are mostly close to- 

 gether and bear old fruit stalks as well as scale 

 rings back of the leaves. 



The leaves have slender petioles %-% inch long 

 and blades 1-3 inches long and V0-I14 inches 

 broad, the edges not toothed, green to dai-k green 

 on upper surface, lighter green and slightly hairy 

 beneath. Sometimes the leaves are yellow spotted, 

 perhaps from disease. 



The lateral flowers, which are slightly fragrant, 

 have slender stalks about i/i i"ch long and are as 

 much as 3 inches long in the bud. The naiTow 

 tubular base (hypanthium) %b inch long bears a 

 cup-shaped calyx Vie i»ch long with 5 teeth; the 

 white or pale yellow corolla is composed of a nar- 

 row tube 114 — IV2 inches long and 5 very narrow 

 spreading lobes about 11/4 inches long; 5 stamens 

 united at base and inserted at base of corolla tube 

 and with very slender yellow anthers extending 1 

 inch beyond tube; and pistil with 2-celled inferior 

 ovary and very long slender style about 2V2 inches 

 long. 



The seed capsules split into 2 parts to release 

 the many brown seeds, which are elliptic, %6 i'^^h 

 long, thin, and bordered by a narrow ring. 

 Flowering and fruiting irregularly through the 

 year. 



The sapwood is yellow, and the heartwood is 

 light brown with yellow streaks. The wood is 

 hard, very heavy (specific gravity 1.0), and 

 strong. A durable fencepost. Elsewhere the wood 

 has been utilized in cabinetmaking, wood turning, 

 such as for canes, and inlaid work. The wood 



Exostema caribaeum (Jacq.) Roem. & Schult. 



burns readily and has served for torches, as a few 

 common names indicate. 



Formerly the bitter bark was used for treatment 

 of fevers and as a substitute for cinchona bark, 

 the source of quinine, which is obtained from a 

 closely related genus (Cinchona). 



Common in open areas, clearings, thickets, and 

 cutover dry forests near coasts and at lower and 

 middle elevations in southern and western Puerto 

 Rico. Also in Mona, Culebra, Vieques, Muertos, 

 St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola, Virgin 

 ( iorda, and Anegada. 



Public forests. — Guajataca, Guanica, Maricao, 

 Susua. 



Municipalities where especially common. — 

 12, 26, 54. 



Range. — Southern Florida including Florida 

 Keys and through West Indies from Bahamas and 

 Cuba to Grenada. Also from central Mexico to 

 Costa Rica. 



Other common names. — palo de Jazmin, teilla, 

 cuero de sapo, quina, palo de quina (Puerto Rico) ; 

 yellow-torch (Virgin Islands) ; pini-pini, quina 

 criolla (Dominican Republic) ; cerillo, lirio san- 

 tana, carey de costa (Cuba) ; copalche (Mexico) ; 

 hesito (Nicaragua); Caribbean princewood, 

 princewood (United States) ; princewood (Ba- 

 hamas) ; Caribbee bark-tree, Jamaica Jesuit-bark 

 (Jamaica) ; ironwood (Antigua) ; chandelle Aiig- 

 laise, quinquiiia pays (Haiti) ; tendre en gomme, 

 quinquina caraibe, bois chandelle (Guadeloupe) ; 

 quinquina piton (Martinique). 



Two other species of this genus have been col- 

 lected once in Puerto Rico, though present also on 

 other islands. Plateado (Exostema eJUpticwm 

 Gi'iseb.), found in tlie mountain forest of the Cen- 

 tral Cordillera near Villalba, has elliptic leaves 

 l%-3i/4 inches long and 1-1% inches wide, 

 rounded or short-pointed at both ends, with 

 petioles about I/4 inch long; clusters of few smaller 

 flowers about 1-11/4 inches long, with corolla 

 white, becoming rose ; and cylindric seed capsules 

 %-li/4 inches long. 



Exostema sanetae-Juciae (Kentish) Britten, ob- 

 served in the mountain forest near Maricao many 

 years ago, has larger oblong to elliptic leaves 

 4—81/^ inches long and about half as wide, short- 

 pointed, shiny above, dull and with tufts of hairs 

 in vein angles beneath, with petioles i/^ inch long 

 or less; flower clusters terminal, flowers l-l^/^ 

 inches long, with red corolla; and cylindric seed 

 capsules %-% inch long. 



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