Trees, to 20 m, single main trunk to 1.5 m diam. Leaves decidu­ous, pinnae 4–12; stipules caducous, yellowish green abaxially, dark green adaxially, foliaceous, dimidiate-cordate, 1.3–2.5 × 0.5–1.5 mm, base auriculate-semicordate, apex acuminate to acute, surfaces glabrous; petiole yellowish brown to dark brown, 1.8–5 cm, glabrous or slightly pilose; petiolar nectary medial to proximal to first pinna, dark brown to blackish red, columnar, 0.7–1 × 0.5–0.8 mm; rachis yellowish brown to dark olive brown, 1.7–7.5 cm, glabrous or slightly pilose; rachilla opposite, yellowish brown to dark olive brown, 4–9.5 cm, glabrous or slightly pilose; pulvinules 0.2–0.5 mm; leaflets 30–56 per pinna, blade oblong, 8–15 × 3–6 mm, papery, base obliquely rounded to truncate, venation pinnate (obscure adaxially), mid­vein centric, apex acute to narrowly obtuse, surfaces glabrous except for basal villous tuft, margins glabrous or slightly ciliate. Peduncles yellowish green to olive brown, 2–4 cm, glabrous or finely puberulent. Inflorescences 33–50-flowered, spikes, globose-capitate; bracts persistent, greenish brown, lanceolate, 4–5.5 × 2–4.5 mm. Pedicels absent. Flowers: calyx white or greenish maculate, 1.7–2.5 × 1–1.8 mm, puberulent; lobes cucullate, 0.4–1 mm, apex acute, canescent; corolla red maculate, campanulate-infundibular, 2.9–4.3 × 1.2–1.9 mm, puberulent; lobes cucullate, 0.8–1.5 mm, apex acute to obtuse, canescent; stamens 15–26, white to greenish white with pink base, 9–13 mm, connate 1–2.5 mm; ovary sessile. Legumes brownish black to grayish black, straight, 8–17 × 3–5 cm, indehiscent, papery, base attenuate, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous; stipe 0.8–2.8 cm. Seeds brownish black to blackish red, oblong to ellipsoid, 6–7.3 × 3–3.5 mm; pleurogram U-shaped. 2n = 26.

Phenology: Flowering Mar–Jun.
Habitat: Rockland hammocks, lime­stone coppice, pine flatlands, scrub thickets.
Elevation: 0–10 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Fla., Mexico (Quintana Roo, Yucatán), West Indies (Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti), Central America (Belize, Guatemala).

Discussion

In the flora area, Lysiloma latisiliquum is known from Collier, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties. It is a timber tree of minor importance in the West Indies. The wood is used for furniture, interior housing trim, and boat building. In Mexico and Belize, the bark is used for tanning of leather and for medicinal teas. The lustrous, rich brown heartwood is tinged with red and contains inconspicuous medullary rays; the sapwood is white (S. J. Record and R. W. Hess 1943).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.