Flora of Dominica, Part 2 - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

168 MYRUC~A~-”CUGINACEAE SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTTONS TO BOTANY
Flowering March-May, fruiting July.
Our material is the typical variety (four other varieties on
Hispaniola).
Leaves distilled to make bay rum. Entries marked with an
asterisk (*) are reported by their collectors as cultivated. I am
reasonably certain that the species is native here. Wood used to
make clubs, pestles, and houses; leaves and fruits used to make
a tea to cure stomach ache by Caribs (Hodge and Taylor,
1957592). Adjanohoun et al. (1985:143, pl. 142) reported
medicinal uses.
Landrum (1.c.) considered Myrtus acris Swartz (1788) to be
an illegitimate renaming of Myrtus caryophyllata Linnaeus.
Swartz, in his later work (to which his 1788 work was a
prodromus), stated (1798:910) that he was excluding the
Linnaean M. caryophyllata of the East Indies. However, he did
include Caryophyllus racemosus Miller and I consider
Swartz’s name an illegitimate renaming of the latter.
Psidiwn guajava Linnaeus, 1753:410.
Psidium Linnaeus
Psidium guajava
Guava, goyave, gouyave, balikasi & kuiabu (white var.),
balubui & ualiapa (red var.) (Carib).
Shrub or small tree with quadrangular branchlets; leaves
elliptic, to 10 cm x 5 cm, obtuse at apex, rounded to obtuse at
base, lateral veins 12-20 on each side of midvein, impressed
above, raised below; inflorescence usually l-flowered, pedicels
1-2 cm long; flowers large, to 2 cm across; fruit k globose, 2-6
cm across, juicy and sweet or acid, many-seeded; seeds
horse-shoe-shaped or reniform, embryo pimentoid (hooked or
CUrVed).
Native to New World, now widely cultivated and escaping;
in Dominica common in coastal woods and lowlands,
occasional at mid-elevations: Belleview (Taylor 4), Cabrit
Swamp (Hodge 494), Carib Reserve (Hodge 3350), La
Chaudiere (Hodge 3682), Hatton Gardens (Hodge 3059),
Laudat (Lloyd 37), Marigot (Hodge 496), Pointe Ronde (Hodge
2751), Pont Casse (Webster 7563), Portsmouth (Hodge 3746),
Sylvania (Hodge 495, Wusshausen & Ayensu 394).
An infusion of bark, root and leaves used by Caribs to treat
diarrhea or intestinal chill (Hodge and Taylor, 1957593).
Adjanohoun et al. (1985: 143, pl. 110) reported medicinal uses.
Syzygium Browne ex J. Gaertner
Syzygium aromaticum (Linnaeus) Memll & Perry of the
Moluccas, the source of cloves and clove oil, is cultivated near
Roseau (Nicolson 4142). The hypanthium is cylindric, 1-1.5
cm long, with triangular calyx-lobes to 4 mm long; the leaves
are short-acuminate at apex and tapering to base. I am much
indebted to Miss Dulcie Powell, who provided me with a copy
of Buees account (1798) of the introduction of cloves on
Dominica. He planted three clove uees imported from Cayenne
in 1789 on his estate, Montpellier (unknown to me but
apparently on the east side), and these produced cloves in 1795.
In 1791 he bought 14 trees in Martinique. In 1793 he planted
seeds and germinated 1500 seedlings. His experiments indicated
that the trees did best in reddish or yellowish clays, where
coffee and sugar did poorly. In addition, Mr. Buee reported
importing bradfruit, cinnamon, black pepper, and other fruit
trees from Mr. Anderson of the St. Vincent Botanic Garden.
These represent some of the earliest documented plant
introductions to Dominica.
Syzygium mulaccense (Linnaeus) Memll& Perry, the Malay
apple, was collected in the Roseau Botanic Garden (Hodge
3922,3883). It is native to SE Asia and has large leaves to 3 dm
long, red flowers, and a pyriform fruit to 9 cm long.
Syzygium jumbos
Syzygiwnjambw (Linnaeus) Alstm, 1931:115.
Eugenia d o s Lirnaeus, 1753:470.
Pomme rose, rose apple.
Tree to 20 m; leaves lanceolate, to 20 cm x 5 cm;
inflorescence a terminal raceme to 2.5 cm long with 2-4 large,
4-merous flowers on pedicels to 1.5 cm long: fruit depressedglobose,
to 4 cm long.
Native to Indo-Malayan region; used as windbreak and
escaping in Dominica in lowlands: Clarke Hall (Nicolson
1856), Lisdara (Hodge 486, 2432), Mt. Joy (Hodge 1264),
north of Portsmouth (Wasshausen & Ayensu 359), South
Chiltern (Ernst 1541), Sylvania (Cooper 37, Hodge 1165).
Apparently flowering and fruiting year around.
NY CTAGIN ACEAE
Several species of Bougainvillea Commerson ex Jussieu,
armed and scrambling shrubs with alternate leaves and small
flowers subtended by large, colorful bracts are cultivated
pantropically, including Dominica, but no specimens have been
seen.
Mirubilis jalapa Linnaeus, the four-o’clock, an unarmed
herb with opposite leaves and bisexual flowers (opening in the
evening) with large, white or magenta, trumpet-like perianths,
is cultivated pantropically, including Dominica: Layou River
valley near Hillsborough bridge (Ernst 2181), seen in Portsmouth
(DHN!).
1. Herb; flowers bisexual . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boerhavia
1. Shrub or tree; flowers unisexual . . . . . . . . . Pisonia
Boerhavia Linnaeus
Boerhuvia erecta Linnaeus was reported for Dominica by
Vklez (1957:lM). It has non-glandular fruits, red-punctate
leaves and pink flowers. The record needs confirmation for
Dominica.