Swartzia cubensis (Britton & P.Wilson) Standl.

  • Authority

    Cowan, Richard S. 1967. Swartzia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae Swartzieae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 1: 3-228. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Fabaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Swartzia cubensis (Britton & P.Wilson) Standl.

  • Description

    Description - Tree 15-20 m tall, the trunk 25-35 cm diameter, the branchlets glabrescent; petioles (7-)10-25(-30) mm long, terete, pilosulose or tomentulose, or minutely strigulose; rachis (5-)8-14(-19.5) cm long, marginate to alate, the wing oblong-oblanceolate, or the rachis only stipellate at each pair of leaflets, pilosulose, tomentulose, or minutely strigulose, sometimes sparingly so beneath; petiolules 1-2 mm long, pilosulose or tomentulose, the blades progressively longer toward the leaf-apex, the lowermost 2-4.5 cm long, 1.5-2 cm wide, the other 5-9.5 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide, the lateral leaflets elliptic to lanceolate-elliptic, the terminal one oblanceolate or elliptic, the base obtuse to acute, the terminal one cuneate basally, the apex bluntly acute to obtuse, the upper surface glabrous or sparingly pilosulose on the costa, strigulose beneath, the venation inconspicuous, the costa impressed but the primary veins plane on the upper surface, more or less salient beneath; inflorescences racemose, fasciculate, 2.5-8.5 cm long, ramigerous, the bracts persistent, 0.5-1 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, oblate to orbicular to oval, pilosulose or strigulose externally, glabrous within; bracteoles lacking; pedicels 3 mm long, strigulose sparingly; buds elliptic in outline, ca 5 mm long and 2.5-3 mm diameter, sparingly strigulose externally; calyx segments 3, deciduous, membranous, sparingly strigulose externally, glabrous within; petal lacking; larger stamens 9 or 10, glabrous, the filaments 5-9 mm long, the anthers oval, ca 1.5 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, the smaller stamens 13-18, glabrous, the filaments 3-6 mm long, the anthers oval, ca 1.2 mm long, 0.9 mm wide, the pollen of all the stamens 21-23.5 µ diameter, gynoecium glabrous, the stigma truncate, the style 2 mm long, strongly curved or abruptly arcuate laterally, the ovary 5 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, narrowly elliptic, the gynophore 1-1.5 mm long; fruits orange-yellow, oval to elliptic in outline, 2-4.5 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, glabrous, nitid, reticulate-venose, the stipe 5-15 mm long, glabrous, 1- or 2-seeded; seeds 15-20 mm long, 8-15 mm wide, elliptic, the aril red, covering most of the seed.

  • Distribution

    (Fig. 27). Forests of western Cuba, Yucatan Peninsula and adjacent Guatemala and British Honduras, and the Pacific coast of Nicaragua.

    Cuba South America| Guatemala Central America| Belize Central America| Nicaragua Central America|