Bucida buceras leaves Keanae Arboretum Maui

''Terminalia buceras'' is a

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

Combretaceae The Combretaceae, often called the white mangrove family, are a family of flowering plants in the order Myrtales. The family includes about 530 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas in ca 10 genera. The family includes the leadwood tree, ''Combre ...

family. It is known by a variety of names in English, including bullet tree, black olive tree, gregorywood (or gregory wood), Antigua whitewood, and oxhorn bucida. It is native to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. It is commonly found in coastal swamps and wet inland forests in low elevations.

Distribution

The species is native to an area in the South, Central and North America, from Colombia to Southern Mexico and Florida. Countries and regions in which it grows are: Colombia; Panama; Costa Rica; Venezuelan Antilles; Nicaragua; Windward Islands; Southwest Caribbean; Honduras; Guatemala; Mexico (Southeast, Southwest, Gulf, Central); Leeward Islands; Belize; Dominican Republic; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; Haiti; Cuba; Turks-Caicos Islands; Bahamas; U.S.A. (Florida). It is regarded as introduced to Trinidad and Tobago.

Growth

To grow it prefers high sunlight and rich, moist, well drained soil. It is highly tolerant to salt, insects, fungus, wind, and air pollution. Its roots are able to dig up paving stones and damage foundations.

Wood

The wood of the bullet tree is extremely hard and durable. Being highly resistant to insects and fungi, it is sometimes used for house posts or bridge timbers. The bark may be used for tanning leather due to its

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...

content. It is also often used as an ornamental/shade tree. The wood was also used for ship construction during the

Age of Sail The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid- 15th) to the mid- 19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of naval ...

. The frame of , built in Jamaica in 1790, was constructed of bullet tree wood.''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

'
(1792), Seq.No.T189.
/ref>

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17583087, from2=Q12199922 buceras Trees of Mexico Trees of South America