Calophyllum antillanum Britton, Clusiaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Calophyllum calaba auct. Amer.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Alexandrian laurel, Antilles calophyllum, Indian laurel, Santa Maria tree, beauty leaf, calaba, galba, kamani, mast wood

French: bois de charromage

Spanish: Maria, Santa María

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree to 25 m tall. Leaves with petioles 9 to 13 mm long, without basal, adaxial protuberance; blades elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 7-15 x 3.5-7 cm, base obtuse or cuneate, apex rounded to slightly emarginate, margin sometimes undulate, tertiary venation inconspicuous, glabrous. Flowers on pedicels 4-10 mm long; sepals rounded, decussate, outer pair 2-3 mm long, inner pair 5-7 mm long; petals 4 or wanting, oblong, to 7 x 5 mm, white; stamens or staminodes numerous; pistil globose, style 1 mm long. Fruits globose, 2-2.5 cm in diameter, green or greenish yellow; seed globose, 13 mm in diameter, cotyledons immense" (Howard, 1989; p. 320).

Habitat/ecology:  "Coastal areas, mangrove forests, tropical hammocks.  A native of woodland, closed forests and river banks in areas of higher rainfall.  Where invasive, the species forms dense stands crowding out native species and preventing their establishment. Seedlings and saplings reach high densities at the edge of mangrove swamps in Florida. The tree withstands inundation and brackish conditions"  (Weber, 2003; p. 80).  "Evergreen lowland to montane forests, gallery forests, mangrove and Mauritia palm swamps, seasonally flooded riverbanks, 0-1400 m" (Berry et al., 1998; p. 250).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Greater Antilles, St. Croix, Trinidad, Tobago (Howard, 1949; p. 171).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced	Wester, Lyndon (1992) (p. 135)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	Weber, Ewald (2003) (p. 80)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)		Hunsberger, A. G. B. (2001)

Control: 

Physical:  Hand pull seedlings and saplings

Chemical:  Cut larger trees and treat the stumps with herbicide (Weber, 2003; p. 80).