Dacryodes excelsa

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]

Dacryodes excelsa
Tabonuco tree (Dacryodes excelsa)
Scientific 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

References

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. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Dacryodes excelsa​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 22 August 2021.