Sideroxylon americanum (Mill.) T.D.Penn.
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Authority
Pennington, Terence D. 1990. Sapotaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 52: 1-750. (Published by NYBG Press)
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Family
Sapotaceae
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Scientific Name
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Synonyms
Maurocenia americana Mill., Bumelia retusa Sw., Achras retusa Poir., Lyciodes retusa Kuntze, Bumelia retusa var. loranthifolia Pierre, Bumelia loranthifolia (Pierre) Britton, Bumelia bahamensis Britton, Bumelia oblongata Urb., Bumelia excisa Urb., Bumelia roigii Britton & Small, Bumelia navassana Urb. & Ekman, Bumelia retusa subsp. camara Cronquist, Bumelia retusa subsp. neglecta Cronquist, Bumelia americana (Mill.) Stearn, Bumelia neglecta (Cronquist) Lundell, Bumelia retusa subsp. typica Cronquist
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Description
Species Description - Shrub or small tree; Young branches appressed puberulous with ferruginous hairs, eventually becoming glabrous, grey, finely cracked and fissured, lenticellate or not. Usually unarmed, less frequently (in Bahamas) armed with simple or branched axillary spines 1-3 cm long. Leaves mostly opposite, spaced, less frequently spirally arranged, 0.8-6.5 × 0.4-4 cm, usually obovate, oblanceolate or cuneiform, less frequently elliptic, apex rounded, truncate or retuse, base narrowly attenuate or cuneate, less frequently acute, thickly coriaceous with a revolute margin, appressed puberulous below with ferruginous hairs becoming grey with age; venation brochidodromous, with a marginal vein; midrib flat on the upper surface; secondary veins, 4-8 pairs, ascending, straight, parallel or slightly divergent; intersecondaries usually prominent; tertiaries descending from the margin and parallel to the secondaries, often obscure. Petiole 1-7 mm long, not channelled, appressed ferruginous puberulous. Flowers bisexual, axillary, 2-5(-10) in a fascicle. Pedicel (1.5-)3-5(-8) mm long, appressed ferruginous puberulous. Sepals five, 1.5-3(-4) mm long, broadly ovate or elliptic, apex obtuse or rounded, appressed ferruginous puberulous outside, sparsely puberulous to glabrous inside. Corolla glabrous, 3-4.5(-5.5) mm long, tube 1-2 mm long, lobes five; median segment broadly ovate or elliptic, apex rounded or obtuse, lateral segments (0.5-) 1.5-2.5 mm long, narrowly lanceolate, often erose. Stamens five, glabrous; filaments 1.25-3 mm long, anthers 0.5-1 (-1.5) mm long, lanceolate-sagittate. Staminodes five, 1.25-2.5(-3) mm long, broadly lanceolate or elliptic, sometimes infolded, margin sometimes erose, glabrous. Ovary ovoid, (4)5(6)-locular, appressed puberulous; style 1.5-3 mm long after anthesis, glabrous; style-head simple. Fruit 0.7 1.5 cm long, ovoid, ellipsoid or globose, apex rounded or truncate, base rounded to obtuse, smooth, glabrous; pericarp 1-3 mm thick, fleshy. Seed solitary, 0.5-1.3 cm long, depressed globose to broadly ellipsoid; testa hard, shining, often with several thickened plates on the adaxial side and often hollowed at the base, 0.3-2 mm thick; scar basal or basi-ventral, 1-2 mm in diam.; embryo vertical to horizontal, with plano-convex cotyledons and slightly exserted radicle, surrounded by a thin sheath of endosperm. Field characters. A spreading shrub or small tree to 10 m, sometimes spiny, without or with only slight latex in the bark. The flowers are very fragrant, whitish or cream-coloured and the fruit ripens black or violet.
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Discussion
The fruit is edible.
Phenology: In the Yucatan Peninsula flowering occurs during and towards the end of the rainy season from May to Dec, while in the Caribbean Islands it is also strongly seasonal from Dec to Mar. The sparse information available suggests that Apr to Oct is the period of maximum fruiting in both regions. The field notes of Gaumer & Sons 23338 (Mexico, Yucatan) indicate that the fruit is much sought after by birds, an observation supported by the vernacular name Pigeon Berry (Bahamas).
Distribution and Ecology: Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico and Belize, and a single collection without exact locality from Guatemala), the Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba, Navassa Is. A coastal plant of dunes, arid cliffs (often on limestone) and rarely at the edge of mangrove swamps. It is one of the indicator spp. of the coastal coppice community in the Bahamas (Correll & Correll, 1982: 1104).
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Common Names
Cocuyo, pigeon berry, wild saffron, xpotzilil
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Distribution
Mexico North America| Quintana Roo Mexico North America| Yucatán Mexico North America| Guatemala Central America| Belize Central America| Bahamas South America| South Andros Bahamas South America| Cat Island Bahamas South America| New Providence Bahamas South America| Turks and Caicos Islands South America| Cuba South America| Piñar del Río Cuba South America| Jamaica South America| Saint Ann Jamaica South America| Saint Catherine Jamaica South America| Saint Mary Jamaica South America| Navassa Island South America|