Dacryodes excelsa

Dacryodes excelsa
Tabonuco tree (Dacryodes excelsa)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Burseraceae
Genus: Dacryodes
Species:
D. excelsa
Binomial name
Dacryodes excelsa
Vahl

Dacryodes excelsa is a tree native to Puerto Rico with a habitat that extends into the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean region.[1] Its English vernacular names include gommier and candlewood.[2] Its Spanish common name is tabonuco.[3] According to Richards,[4] "it is the most conspicuous large emergent tree" in the Luquillo mountains of Puerto Rico. It is also found in Toro Negro State Forest, in Puerto Rico Cordillera Central.[5] Dacryodes excelsa grows to around 115 feet (35 m), and grows best in soil with a PH of 4.5–5.5.[6]

  1. ^ Tabonuco: 'Dacryodes excelsa' (Vahl.) USDA Forest Service. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  2. ^ Dacryodes excelsa, "Candlewood": Overview. Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  3. ^ Dacryodes excelsa (Vahl) "Tabonuco": Burseraceae, Familia de las burseras. Ariel E. Lugo & Frank H. Wadsworth. USDA Forest Service. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  4. ^ Richards, P.W. (1996). The Tropical Rain Forest. An Ecological Study (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  5. ^ Bosques de Puerto Rico: Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro. Archived August 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Hojas de Nuestro Ambiente. July 2008. [Publication/Issue: P-030] Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  6. ^ NRCS. "Dacryodes excelsa". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 22 August 2021.