Common name: Needle flower

Needle flower or Perfume tree is a small flowering tree native to tropical America, its natural range extending from the island of Cuba, through southern Mexico and Central America to South America.

It is fast-growing and reaches heights of up to 10 m (30 ft) in its natural habitat, though under garden conditions it is more typically 5 to 7 m (15 to 23 ft) tall and develops slim, straight trunk supporting a densely branched, pyramidal or rounded crown.

The leaves are oval, up to 20 cm (8 in) long, dark green on top with prominent veining and with a leathery texture. They are arranged in pairs along the branchlets and remain on the tree throughout the year.

The flowers are pure white, thin trumpet-shaped tubes up to 18 cm (7 in) long, borne in drooping clusters at the ends of the branches. They bloom on and off throughout the year, usually in response to rain that follows a dry period, and are at their fullest in the rainy season, which can be spring, summer or autumn in its native range. They are sweetly scented, especially in the late afternoon and at night, and attract butterflies and moths, their specialist pollinators, which with their long proboscises are able to access the nectar at the base of the flower.

Fertilised flowers are followed by small round fruit up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. Green when young, they become orange-yellow when ripe and have aromatic, creamy-white or yellow pulp embedded with several angular seed.

Use

The tree's shapely form, lush green foliage and showy, sweetly fragrant flowers have led to its widespread cultivation in tropical gardens.

The fruit pulp is edible, sweet and aromatic, but lacks flavour and though sometimes eaten fresh out-of-hand is considered a minor fruit.

The wood is fine-grained, yellowish or grey and dense. In the 1900's it was a popular source of small diameter roundwood for fashioning into walking sticks and umbrella handles sold into the British market, on account of its attractive grain, similar to that of oak, and its rigidity and strength. In some parts, it is used in turnery and for tool handles.

Climate

Grows naturally in moderately humid to very humid subtropical and tropical lowland to mid-elevation climates, generally frost-free areas with annual lows of 17 to 25°C, annual highs of 25 to 35°C, annual rainfall of 1300 mm to 4000 mm and a dry season of 5 months or less.

Growing

New plants are grown from seed, cuttings or using air-layering (circumposing ) methods. Growth and flowering performance are best on rich, moist, free-draining clay and loam soils of a moderately acid to neutral nature, generally with a pH of 5.0 to 7.0 and on sites with partial sun to light shade exposure.

Problem features

There does not appear to be any records of its escape and naturalisation anywhere. It is assessed as a low weed risk species for Hawaii by the Hawaii Pacific Weed Risk Assessment project (HPWRA). The branches will root where they touch the ground.

Books

• Adams, C. D. 1972, Flowering plants of Jamaica, University of the West Indies, Mona, Greater Kingston

• Barwick, M., et al. 2004, Tropical & subtropical trees : a worldwide encyclopaedic guide, Thames and Hudson, London

• Clay, H. et al. 1987, Tropical shrubs, University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu

• Croat, T. B. 1978, Flora of Barro Colorado Island, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California

• Gargiullo, M. B & Magnuson, B. L. & Kimball, Larry D. 2008, A field guide to plants of Costa Rica, Oxford University Press, Oxford

• Lorenzi, H. 2006, Brazilian fruits & cultivated exotics (for consuming in natura), Instituto Plantarum de Estudos da Flora, Nova Odessa, San Paulo

• Macmillan, H. F. 1943, Tropical planting and gardening : with special reference to Ceylon, 5th ed, Macmillan Publishing, London

• Martin, F. M., et al. 1987, Perennial edible fruits of the tropics : an inventory, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, D.C.

• Menninger, E. A. 1962, Flowering trees of the world for tropics and warm climates, 1st ed., Heathside Press, New York

• Record, S. J. & Hess, R. W., 1972, Timbers of the New World, Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut & Arno Press, New York

• Standley, P. C. 1920, Trees and shrubs of Mexico, Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington D.C.

• The Garden Section of the Woman's Club of Havana 1958, Flowering plants from Cuban gardens : Plantas floridas de los jardines cubanos, Criterion Books, New York

Articles, Journals, Reports and Working Papers

• "Brazilian Oak" Walking Sticks. (Posoqueria latifolia, R.S.) Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) , Vol. 1904, No. 1 (1904), pp. 9-11