Pera bumeliifolia

Pera bumeliifolia Griseb.

Common Names: Black Ebony

Family: Peraceae

Habit: Pera bumeliifolia grows as a small to medium tree up to 12 m in height. The stems and leaves with lepidote scales. The leaves are arranged alternately, elliptic, to 12 cm in length with an entire margin and rounded/obtuse leaf apex.

Pera bumeliifolia is dioecious. The incomplete, imperfect, zygomorphic, flowers are arranged in involucres in leaf axils. Staminate flowers have 5 unfused, green, ciliate, sepals in the calyx.  There is no corolla. There are 4 or 5 stamens and no carpel.  The carpellate flowers have no calyx, corolla or stamens. The superior ovary has 3 locules. The fruit is a 3-parted capsule.

Habitat: Pera bumeliifolia grows on a limestone substrate in Dry Broadleaf Evergreen Formations Forests/Shrublands (coppice).

Distribution: Pera bumeliifolia occurs in the northern island groupings in the Lucayan Archipelago, Cuba and Hispaniola.

Medicinal/Cultural/Economic usage: Pera bumeliifolia is used not known to be used medicinally in the Lucayan Archipelago.