Description: With a stem reaching only about 8 cm in diameter, Bourreria is a diminutive as well as scarce component of the forest.
Clad in smooth, brown bark,
the vertically growing stem supports a moderate number of nearly
horizontal branches and an open, airy crown measuring several
meters across. Leaves (16 cm by 7 cm) are simple, alternate,
and loosely grouped around the ends of the twigs. The broadly
spatulate (paddle shaped) to elliptical blades are held by short
petioles (1 cm) and lack drip-tips. Bourreria foliage is
also smooth, entire and prominently patterned by pinnately arranged
leaf veins. New leaves are added to the pre-existing leaf cover
in October and, less regularly, in May. Flowering takes
place immediately thereafter, with blossoms (2.5 cm in length
by 1.5cm in diameter) appearing in small, terminal panicles held
just above the crown. The flowers are white and trumpet shaped,
sporting cylindrical corolla tubes that flare distally into 5
petal-like lobes. Supported by a green, cup-like calyx, the interior
of each corolla conceals five stamens and a central pistil. Bourreria
blossoms smell weakly - and unpleasantly - of cloves. Flowering
periods occur twice yearly, with the first occurring in late May
and June and the second in November. Roughly spherical in shape,
the green fruits expand rapidly from the ovaries of dying
flowers. The persistent calyx remains, conspicuously covering
the bottom third of the fruit with its now-jagged edges. Fruits
mature after two months of development, when they finally measure
2 cm in diameter and turn darker in color. Below a thin layer
of soft flesh, each contains a solitary, globular seed. Harvests
take place annually in October (resulting from the June flowering)
and, less consistently, in March (from the November flowering).
