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Useful Tropical Plants

Sapium laurocerasus

Desf.

Euphorbiaceae

+ Synonyms

Excoecaria laurocerasus (Desf.) Müll.Arg.

Stillingia laurocerasus (Desf.) Baill.

Common Name:

Sapium laurocerasus

General Information

Sapium laurocerasus is an evergreen tree with a columnar crown; it can grow from 6 - 18 metres tall. The bole can be up to 60cm 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 sometimes harvested from the wild for local use of its wood[
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.
].

Known Hazards

The plant contains an abundance of an irritating, poisonous latex[
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.
].

Botanical References


Range

Caribbean - Puerto Rico.

Habitat

Forests of the lower to upper mountains, and in moist limestone regions[
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

Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitEvergreen Tree
Height12.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The heartwood is light brown or light yellow; the sapwood whitish. It is mostly fine-textured, except for many large pores which are visible to the naked eye on the end grain and appear as fine scratches or stipple marks on flatsawn surfaces; the grain is sometimes straight, more frequently tightly interlocked; lustre is medium; there are no visible growth rings; the seasoned wood is free of odour or taste. The wood is soft; light in weight; not very durable, being very susceptible to attack by dry-wood termites and other insects and to decay. Sap-staining fungi discolour freshly cut wood if it is neither dipped in fungicide nor dried promptly. Rate of air-seasoning and amount of degrade are moderate. Machining characteristics are as follows: planing is excellent; shaping and turning are fair; boring and mortising are poor; sanding is very poor unless only very fine abrasive paper is used; and resistance to screw splitting is good. Though cut occasionally for posts, the wood is unpopular because the caustic latex injures the skin. It is suitable for boxes, crates, interior construction, paper pulp, and plywood[
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.
,
471
Title
Puerto Rican Woods. Agriculture Handbook No. 205
Publication
 
Author
Longwood F.R.
Publisher
USDA Forest Service; Washington
Year
1961
ISBN
 
Description
Descriptions of 60 timbers from Puerto Rica.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-12. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Sapium+laurocerasus>

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