Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) J.W.Moore
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Family
Myrtaceae (Magnoliophyta)
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Scientific Name
Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) J.W.Moore
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Common Names
ausú, guayabita, malagueta, bay-rum tree, wild cinnamon
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Description
Author: Maria Lúcia Kawasaki
Description: Trees to 12 m tall. Stems 4-angled. Leaves: petioles to 1 cm long; blades obovate or elliptic, 5-10 × 3-5 cm, drying brownish-green, coriaceous, glabrous, densely pellucid-punctate on both surfaces, the base cuneate, the apex obtuse; midvein impressed on the upper surface; lateral veins 15-20 pairs, salient on both surfaces; marginal veins 2, the innermost 1-2 mm from margin. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, paniculate, multiflorous, to 12 cm long, pubescent to glabrous. Flowers: buds subglobose, 2-3 mm long; hypanthium glabrous; calyx lobes broadly ovate, ca. 1 mm long; petals ca. 2 mm diam., glabrous; stamens ca. 4 mm long; style ca. 4 mm long. Fruits subglobose, ca. 1 cm diam., glabrous; seeds ca. 4 mm long.
Common names: West Indian bay tree, cinnamon tree, bayberry, bay rum tree.
Distribution: Endemic to the West Indies.
Ecology: Disturbed low forest.
Phenology: Fr in Mar.
Pollination: No observations recorded.
Dispersal: No observations recorded but the fruits are most likely eaten by animals and the seeds dispersed by them.
Taxonomic notes: Five varieties of this species, vars. racemosa, grisea, hispaniolensis, osua, and terebinthina, are recognized by Landrum (1986) based on leaf and indumentum differences. Pimenta racemosa is sometimes confused with species of Mrycia because both have paniculate inflorescences and 5-merous flowers. Pimenta racemosa can be distinguished by the more than 2 ovules per locule (vs. only 2 ovules per locule) and the myrtoid (vs. myrcioid) embryo. This species description was prepared for the Plants and Lichens of Saba project and most accurately describes it as it occurs on this island. The bark peels in irrgeular plates and is very characteristic of this species (see attached images).
Uses: Economically important as a source of spices and aromatic oils.
Etymology: This epithet usually refers to a species with racemose inflorescences but they are not paniculate in plants of the Lesser Antilles.
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Floras and Monographs
Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) J.W.Moore: [Manuscript] Britton, Nathaniel L. Flora Borinqueña.
Pimenta racemosa (Mill.) J.W.Moore: [Article] Landrum, Leslie R. 1986. Campomanesia, Pimenta, Blepharocalyx, Legrandia, Acca, Myrrhinium, and Luma (Myrtaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 45: 1-178.
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Narratives
