CLUSIACEAE

the garcinia family, in the tea order (Theales), comprising about 40 genera of tropical trees and shrubs. Several are important for their fruits, resins, or timbers. Members of the Clusiaceae family usually have broad-ended, oblong, leathery leaves with a strong, central vein from which branch many delicate, horizontal veins. The plants have resinous, sticky sap, flowers with numerous stamens often united in bundles, and separate petals and sepals. Male and female organs often occur in separate flowers. Scotch attorney, or cupey (Clusia rose), which is native to the Caribbean area, grows to about 10 m (30 feet). It has leaves 10 cm (4 inches) long, flatly open flowers with six waxy, rosy-white petals, and many-seeded, multicelled, golfball-sized fruits. Scotch attorney is planted as a beach shrub in areas exposed to salt spray. C. grandiflora, which is native to Suriname, has larger flowers and ivory-white central stamen masses. Many members of the genus Clusia begin as epiphytes, or air plants, and eventually send roots over the host tree to the ground. All of the 145 members of the genus are tropical American, except for one species that is found in Madagascar and two found in New Caledonia. Mammee apple, or mamey (Mammea americana), native to tropical America, produces a grapefruit-sized, rough, russet-skinned, edible fruit. The other members of the genus Mammea are native to Madagascar. Fruits of many members of the genus Rheedia also are edible. Waika plum (R. intermedia), native to Central America, has a small, oval yellow fruit. There are 38 tropical American species and 4 native to Madagascar. Several trees of the genus Garcinia produce valuable fruits, such as the mangosteen (G. mangostana). Other members of the family, including beauty leaf (Calophyllum inophyllum) and Ceylon ironwood (Mesua ferrea), are cultivated as ornamentals in tropical regions. In some classifications the families Clusiaceae and Hypericaceae are combined into a larger family, the Guttiferae.