Notes from Puerto Rico

Sea Grape Tree (Coccoloba uvifera) – Native to Puerto Rico as well as coastal beaches throughout tropical Caribbean and America, including Florida. This small evergreen tree/shrub has huge leathery leaves and white flowers that produce purple-green fruit, 1-inch in diameter, in grape-like clusters. Wind-resistant and highly salt tolerant, this tree is often used to stabilize beaches. It provides protective habitat for small animals and can help prevent sea turtles from being distracted by lights from nearby buildings.

Calabash tree (Crescentia cujete) – Native to Puerto Rico, and Central and South America. This is small, evergreen, understory tree grows up to 25 feet tall, with simple leaves and a rough bark. The branches spread outward long and horizontally, with almost no secondary branching. The flowers are funnel-shaped, light green in color with purple streaks, about 2 inches wide. These flowers, which seem to grow directly from the branches, bloom at night and are pollinated by bats, then wither away by noon the next day. The large spherical fruits, up to 6 inches in diameter, have hard shells that have been used as bowls, cups, or other vessels; sometimes painted and made into ornaments or musical instruments.

Wild cowpea (Vigna vexillate) – Native to Puerto Rico, Central and South America, and the West Indies. Wild cowpea is actually pantropical, which means it is found in tropical regions in both hemispheres. This fast-growing climbing plant produces long vines (up to 20 feet) from a tuberous, woody rootstock. The pea-like flowers are purple, later producing 3-4 inch-long seedpods. Like other plants in the legume family, Wild cowpea has nitrogen fixing capabilities that enrich infertile soils. Wild cowpea is an important food crop in several places around the globe, such as India and Namibia. The protein content of its tubers is very high. Almost all parts of the plant are edible. It is also grown as a ground cover crop.

Spanish stenocereus (Stenocereus fimbriatus) – Surprisingly, there are cacti on the Island of Puerto Rico. Southern portions of the island are located in the dry rain shadow of the Cordillera Central mountains and are studded with rare subtropical dry forests.

Spanish stenocereus is a treelike cactus with a candelabra appearance of slender, ridged branches can reach 30 feet in height. It has so many branches that it is hard to determine a central stem. The flowers, green with purple and white tones, are nocturnal, pollinated by bats and moths. The fruit is red and spherical in shape (2-inch diameter) with an edible flesh. This cactus grows at low elevations and is threatened by the expansion of agriculture, competition from invasive plants, and adverse climatic conditions (such as hurricanes!).