Hirtella rugosa
Thuill. ex Pers.
Chrysobalanaceae
Chrysobalanus rugosus (Thuill. ex Pers.) M.Gómez
Hirtella portoricensis Humb. & Bonpl. ex Schult.
Zamzela rugosa (Thuill. ex Pers.) Raf.
Common Name:
General Information
Hirtella rugosa is an evergreen tree growing up to 6 metres tall[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
]. The bole is up to 8cm in diameter[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
].
The tree is harvested from the wild as a local source of food and wood. It is sometimes cultivated in the Caribbean for its edible fruit[
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
735- Title
- Chrysobalanaceae Part 2. Species Plantarum: Flora of the World, Part 19: 1-268
- Publication
-
- Author
- Prance G.T.; Sothers C.A.
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb
- Publisher
- Australian Biological Resources Study; Canberra.
- Year
- 2003
- ISBN
- 0 642 56833 2
- Description
- An excellent monograph, part of a very ambitious project to catalogue all the plants in the world. It can be downloaded as a PDF file from the Internet.
Range
Caribbean - Puerto Rico.
Habitat
An understorey tree in lower mountain forests[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Evergreen Tree |
| Height | 4.00 m |
| Pollinators | Hummingbirds |
| Cultivation Status | Cultivated, Wild |
Cultivation Details
The plant can flower and fruit nearly all year round[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
].
This is the only species in the family Chrysobalanaceae that is known to be pollinated by hummingbirds. The red petals do not fully open, forming a tube[
735- Title
- Chrysobalanaceae Part 2. Species Plantarum: Flora of the World, Part 19: 1-268
- Publication
-
- Author
- Prance G.T.; Sothers C.A.
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb
- Publisher
- Australian Biological Resources Study; Canberra.
- Year
- 2003
- ISBN
- 0 642 56833 2
- Description
- An excellent monograph, part of a very ambitious project to catalogue all the plants in the world. It can be downloaded as a PDF file from the Internet.
].
Edible Uses
Fruit - raw[
]. A thin, almost tasteless, juicy flesh[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
]. The dark red, elliptic, slightly flattened, 2-pointed, fleshy fruits are 12 - 15mm long[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
]
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
The sapwood is light brown. The wood is hard, strong, and heavy, but because of the small size of the trees is little used except for posts and fuel[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
].
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
