MADDER FAMILY (RUBIACEAE) 



249. Aquilon 



Easily recognized by the sticky or resinous buds, 

 young twigs, young leaves, and flower clusters, the 

 buds with a whitish mass of resin about i/i inch 

 across and 2-pointed. Other distinguishing cliar- 

 acters are: (1) a dense symmetrical and conical 

 light green crown; (2) the opposite, narrowly el- 

 liptic or lance-shaped leaves, shiny green on up- 

 per surface as if varnished, especially when young; 

 (3) small tubular white flowers about % inch long, 

 5- or 4-lobed, stalkless along 2 horizontal forks of 

 a slender lateral axis; and (4) the elliptic, brown 

 or black, fleshy fruits Yia inch long. 



A small- or medium-sized evergreen tree 20-30 

 feet high and to 1 foot in trunk diameter, or 

 shrubby. The gray bark is smoothish, flaky and 

 scaly, on large trunks becoming mottled as thin 

 flakes peel off. Inner bark is pink and bitter. The 

 twigs are green when young, turning light brown 

 or gray, with hairy ringed scales (stipules) % 

 inch high at nodes. 



Petioles are %-% inch long. Leaf blades are 

 2-41/2 inches long and %-lV8 inches broad, mostly 

 long-pointed at both ends, the edges turned under, 

 slightly thickened and leathery, hairless, paler be- 

 neath. 



Flower clusters (cymes) have a slender green 

 stalk 11/4-2 inches long with 2 horizontal forks Y^- 

 1/2 inch long bearing several crowded stalkleas 

 flowers all on the upper side. Flowers about % 

 inch long ai'e composed of a short green tubular 



Terebraria resinosa (Vahl) Sprague 



base (hypanthium) and cup-shaped hairy calyx, 

 together more than i/ig inch long; white corolla 

 ^16 inch long, with narrow tube and 4 or 5 lobes 

 3/i6 inch across, minutely haii-y ; 4 or 5 stamens in- 

 serted on the corolla tube; and pistil of inferior 

 4- or 5-celled ovary, short style, and 4- or 5-lobed 

 stigma. 



The fruit (drupe) has a 4- or 5-celled stone 

 and 5 or fewer brown seeds more than i/g inch long. 

 Flowering in spring and summer and maturing 

 fruits from smnmer to winter. 



The wood is hard and light brown, the sapwood 

 with specific gravity 0.8. Used only as a post. 

 Wood susceptible to attack by dry-wood termites. 

 The resinous buds can be chewed but are tasteless. 



In forests and openings in the moist limestone 

 region and ascending into the lower mountain 

 forests on the north side of the Cordillera in west- 

 ern Puerto Rico. 



Public forests. — Cambalache, Guajataca, Mar- 

 icao, Rio Aba jo, Susua, Vega. 



Municipalities where especially common. — 

 14,24,31,34,45,60. 



Range. — Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto 

 Rico, Lesser Antilles to St. Vincent, and Trinidad. 



Botanical synonyms. — Laugeria resinosa 

 Vahl, L. densiflora (Griseb.) Hitchc, Antirhea 

 resinosa (Vahl) Cook & Collins, Stenostomwm 

 densiflorum Griseb. 



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