FOREST AND OTHER TREE PRODUCTS. 25 



valleys of this belt were also once covered with large trees, a few scat- 

 tered examples of which have been preserved, but in general these 

 have been destroyed in order to clear the land for sugar culture. (See 

 Pl.Y.) 



This flora is markedly different from that of the mountain region, 

 although there are a few species of trees common to both regions. It 

 is largely of the type of low, shrubby, thorny, leguminous, and acacia- 

 like trees, with compound leaves and thorny trunks or stems covered 

 by Tillandsia (Spanish moss), and largely of the type of growth known 

 in the United States as the chaparral. In the dry season this flora pro- 

 duces a brownish landscape, as distinguished from the evergreen of 

 the mountain region. This chaparral-like flora is thorny and dense, 

 especially on the coast hills between Ponce and Yauco. In this region 

 it is accompanied by a thick undergrowth of grass, and, with the roll- 

 ing hills and "tepetate" soil, repeats nearly every aspect of the Lower 

 Eio Grande country of Texas. 



The limestone summits of the hills, or cerros, west of Yauco are cov- 

 ered by a remarkable growth of chaparral, including tree cactus, among 

 which are organ-pipe forms resembling those of the California deserts 

 and the tree opuntias of Mexico, accompanied by thorny brush, the 

 whole draped by the epiphytic moss (Tillandsia). 



Besides the common fruit trees, the most conspicuous trees of the 

 coast-border region are: Algarroba, bixia, ceiba, wax tree, higuereta, 

 tamarind, manzanillo, nutmeg, Goccoloba macropliylla, ausubo, flam- 

 boyant. 



Among the trees which grow in both regions are the guanabanos, the 

 tamarind, the canafistolo, or senna, and the ceiba. (See PI. H, fig. 2.) 



FOREST AND OTHER TREE PRODUCTS. 



The products of the forests and other vegetation of Porto Rico are 

 numerous, although of no great export value. They are of greatest 

 importance to the inhabitants of the island, as will be shown later. 



TREES USED BY MAN. 



Among the products of the forest the following trees are used by man : 

 For timber and fuel. — Algarroba, ausubo, capa blanca, capa 

 prieta, laurel sabino, laurel blanca, guayacan, ucar (ucare or jucare), 

 espejuelo, moca, maricao, mauricio, ortegon, tachuelo, cedro, cojoba, 

 aceitillo, guaraguao, maga, yaiti, palo santo, tortuguillo, zerrezuela, 

 guayarote, higuereta, tabanuco, mora, hueso, hachuelo, " ileucedran." l 



1 The names of the woods here given are as they were written by the native Porto 

 Ricans who assisted in their collection, and as they are spelled in the Commercial 

 Directory of Porto Rico. There are some peculiar disagreements of gender which 

 the writer can not explain. The writer has also been unable to rind any mention of 

 "ileucedran" in print, and the name may be erroneous. 



