''Clusia clusioides'' is a small tree which is native to

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 ...

and Hispaniola, in the family

Clusiaceae The Clusiaceae or Guttiferae Juss. (1789) (''nom. alt. et cons.'' = alternative and valid name) are a family (biology), family of plants including 13 genera and ca 750 species. Several former members of Clusiacae are now placed in Calophyllaceae ...

. One characteristic are the opposite, very thick leaves. It is very common in the dwarf or

elfin forest Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon ecosystem featuring miniature trees, inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air hu ...

s at elevations above , in particular in areas with much light (e.g., next to service roads in Puerto Rico's El Yunque rain forest). The gray and smooth bark of the tree is sometimes covered with mosses and other epiphytes including

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

Elbert L. Little Elbert Luther Little, Jr. (born October 15, 1907, in Fort Smith, Arkansas; died June 23, 2004) was an American botanist whose career spanned 70 years and largely concerned forest botany. Although he was born in Arkansas, and died in Oregon, he grew ...

Jr.,

Frank H. Wadsworth Frank Howard Wadsworth (November 26, 1915 – January 5, 2022) was an American forester, conservationist and researcher. He made important scientific contributions to forestry, through his work in Puerto Rico where he lived from 1942. Life an ...

, Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Agriculture Handbook No. 249, US Department of Agriculture, July 1964

References

clusioides Plants described in 1860 Flora of Puerto Rico Flora of Haiti Flora of the Dominican Republic Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Clusiaceae-stub