''Cornutia obovata'' is a rare species of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

in the

mint family The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savor ...

, and formerly considered a member of the verbena family.Bramley, G., et al
Neotropical Lamiaceae.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

, UK. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to forested slopes in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, where its common names are ''capá jigüerilla'', ''nigua'', and ''palo de nigua''.World Conservation Monitoring Centre. (1998)
''Cornutia obovata''
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2010
www.iucnredlist.org
. Retrieved on 19 February 2011. When it was added to the endangered species list of the United States in 1988 there were only seven individuals known to remain in the wild.USFWS
Determination of endangered status for ''Cornutia obovata'' (palo de nigua).
''Federal Register'' April 24, 1987. By 1998 there were eight plants known. This is considered one population divided amongst a few locations in the mountain forests of the island. This is an evergreen tree which can reach 10 meters in maximum height and 15 centimeters in

trunk diameter Trunk may refer to: Biology * Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso * Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure * Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy * Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant Computing * Trunk (software), in revi ...

. The oppositely arranged leaves are oval in shape and hairy on the undersides. It bears clusters of tubular purple flowers. The tree grows in

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

and serpentine substrates in forested habitat. Other plants associated with the tree include '' Daphnopsis philippiana'', '' Dendropanax laurifolius'', '' Guettarda ovalifolia'', and '' Miconia sintenisii''.''Cornutia obovata''.
Center for Plant Conservation. The nectar of the flowers on cultivated specimens is harvested by the carpenter ant ''

Camponotus abdominalis ''Camponotus atriceps'', previously referred as ''C. abdominalis'', is a species of carpenter ant, endemic to the Americas. Habitat It has been found in a variety of moist and forested habitats, including wet lowland and rainforest, tropical ra ...

'' var. ''floridanus''.Koptur, S. and N. Truong. (1998).
Facultative ant-plant interactions: Nectar sugar preferences of introduced pest ant species in South Florida.
''Biotropica'' 30:2 179. This tree has been rare as long as such data have been collected, which is one reason it is in danger of

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds ( taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed ...

. While the species could be wiped out in any single severe event, it is more likely that it will slowly approach extinction as the few living individuals die. Another threat is

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then land conversion, converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban area, urban ...

, which has cleared many trees and other plants from the mountains of Puerto Rico. This species has been purposely cut down. The tree is being propagated in

Fairchild Tropical Garden Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an botanic garden with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. It is located in the city of Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, just south of Miami, s ...

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2997595 Lamiaceae Trees of Puerto Rico