and 31/^-5 inches wide, short-pointed at apex and 

 heart-shaped at base, red flower chisters, and red 

 flowers with stalks %6 inch or more in length. 



Coccoloha co.sfafa C. Wright (('. nipicola Ur- 

 ban), rare in Puerto Kico but known also from 



Cuba and Hispaniola, has broadly ovate to elliptic 

 or rounded leathery leaves mostly 2-7 inches long 

 and 2-41/^ inches wide, blunt or rounded at apex, 

 green flower clusters, and green flowers with stalks 

 less than V^^ inch long. 



BUCKWHEAT FAMILY (POLYGONACEAE) 



26. Moralon 



A distinctive medium-sized tree of moist moun- 

 tain forests in centi'al and western Puerto Rico, 

 easily recognized by: (1) very large nearly round 

 leaves I-IV2 feet in diameter (often nearly 3 feet 

 on rapidly growing sprouts), broader than long, 

 heart-shaped and almost stalkless, thick, stitf, and 

 leathery, appearing wrinkled with lateral veins 

 dee]3ly sunken, and finely hairy beneatii; (2) stout 

 twigs ringed and enlarged at nodes, bearing at 

 base of leaf a sheath (ocrea), split into brown 

 finely hairy rounded lobes about 1/4-^2 i"ch long 

 and ai^pearing double; (3) numerous snioll light 

 green flowers on short stalks along a stout terminal 

 axis; and (4) rounded fruits Yie-V^ inch in 

 diameter. 



An evergreen tree to 70 feet in height, the trinik 

 becoming 2 feet or more in diameter and slightly 

 buttressed when large, with si^reading crown com- 

 posed of few branches and few leaves. Young 

 trees and sprouts are erect and unbranched. The 

 gray bark is smoothish and slightly fissured, the 

 inner bark light brown and slightly bitter. The 

 stout gray twigs have raised dots (lenticels) and 

 are green and minutely hairy when young. Ter- 

 minal buds are short, rounded, brown, and finely 

 hairy. 



The alternate leaves have stout green petioles 

 about % inch long, so short that the bases appear 

 to be clas])ing. Blades are rounded at apex, not 

 toothed at edges, above green and shiny and be- 

 neath yellow green with the network of veins 

 raised and i^rominent. Leaves of mature trees 

 found in Hispaniola are reported to be much 

 smaller, as short as 3-4 inches in length. 



The narrow flower cluster (raceme) 5-8 inches 

 long consists of a slightly curved light green axis 

 Vs^-I^ inch in diameter, minutely hairy, bearing 

 flowers about s/^e inch across, usually 2 or 3 to- 

 gether on slender light green stalks about % inch 

 long. Flowers are male and female on ditl'erent 

 trees (dioecious). The male flower consists of a 

 light green cuplike liasal tube (hypanthium) i/m 

 inch long and broad with 5 nearly round whitish- 

 green calyx lobes Yiq long; 8 slender white stamens 



Coccoloba pubescens L. 



Vjg inch long united into a basal tube nearly as 

 long; and rudimentary pistil composed of light 

 green ovary i/jg inch long and 3 small whitish 

 styles. Female flowers have basal tube, 5 calyx 

 lobes, minute nonfunctional stamens, and pistil 

 with ovary 14 g inch long and 3 styles. 



When fruiting, the axis curves downward from 

 the weight of the many fruits which are green and 

 pinkish tinged when immature, consisting of the 

 enlarged basal tube (hypanthium) enclosing 1 

 shiny brown 3-angled seed (akene) %,-, inch long. 



The sapwood is whitish, and the lieartwood red- 

 dish brown with pores marked by dark gum. The 

 very hard, heavy wood (s]^ecific gravity more than 

 1.0) is durable and emjiloyed for construction and 

 furniture. It is resistant to attack by dry-wood 

 termites. 



As a slow-growing ornamental for sj^ecial plant- 

 ings, this distinctive tree has been introduced spar- 

 ingly in southern Florida and Cuba. 



In the moist limestone forest region and less 

 commonly in the western half of the lower Cordil- 

 lera region of Puerto Rico. 



Public forests. — Guajataca, Maricao, Rio 

 Abajo. 



Raxge. — Hispaniola. Puerto Rico, Barbuda, 

 Antigua, Montserrat, Xevis. Guadeloupe, Domini- 

 ca, Martinique, St. Lucia, and Barbados. Planted 

 in southern Florida and Cuba. 



Other common names. — hojaucha (Dominican 

 Republic) ; grandleaf seagrape (United States) ; 

 leather-coat-tree (Barbados) ; raisinier grandes- 

 feuilles, bois rouge, moralon (French West 

 Indies). 



Botanical synonym. — Coccoloha grandifolia 

 Jacq. 



A related rare species called ortegon {Coccoloha 

 rugosa Desf.) is now known only from the south 

 slope of the Luquillo Mountains but formerly was 

 present also near San Juan. This small tree has 

 the trunk unbranched or with very few branches, 

 similar very large nearly round leaves 1-lV^ feet 

 in diameter but hairless, and reddish flower clus- 

 ters and fruits. 



78 



