Description: Asolillo presents a very irregular, bending, twisted and often inclined trunk.
Never
cylindrical, its surface is molded by undulating folds that extend
along its entire length to the crown. Nevertheless, Asolillo grows
to be a large tree, with trunk diameters of 1 full meter or more.
The thick, pale tan bark that covers its surface is roughly textured
by vertical fissures and exfoliating plates with jagged edges.
Buttresses are largely absent. The main bole frequently divides
into secondary trunks at a relatively low level. Upon reaching
the canopy, these further subdivide into many thin, long, flexible
and drooping branches. The crown thus produced is thick, flowing,
and willow-like. Leaves (9 cm by 2.5 cm) are smooth, simple
and alternately arranged, occurring in two tiers along the twigs.
each blade is narrowly elliptical in shape, tapering to a pointed
drip tip and supported by an 8 mm petiole. Often the blade shows
a marked asymmetry and curvature, with the mid-rib skewed to one
side of the leaf's central axis. New foliage and twig growth is
seen in the crowns from December through February. Flowers
are minute (2 mm in diameter), green and inconspicuous. They are
produced in very dense, axillary racemes that take the form of
spherical heads of blossoms closely huddled around the twigs.
Each petal-less flower, supported by a thin stalk (5 mm), is composed
of five tiny green sepals, an equal number of minute yellow stamens,
and a central pistil. Flowering periods are poorly synchronized
and their timing lacks annual constancy, however flowers occur
with greatest frequency from November through January. When fertile,
only a few of a tree's many branches produce blossoms. Sporadic
flowers have also been observed in August and October. Fruits
(1.5 cm) are round, pale-green to creme-colored berries with a
layer of pasty flesh surrounding a single, green seed. Maturation
and fruit fall occur in March and April. The seeds are unprotected
by a seed coat and germinate immediately with the earliest rains
of the new rainy season, in late April or May.
Similar
Species: In its beachside habitat, Asolillo is unmistakable
thanks to its large, irregular, roughly textured trunk and thin,
drooping branches.
