{{Short description|Species of tree}} {{Speciesbox |image = Arbol de Tabonuco (Dacryodes excelsa), jpg format.jpg |image_caption = Tabonuco tree (''Dacryodes excelsa'') |genus = Dacryodes |species = excelsa |authority = Vahl }}
'''''Dacryodes excelsa''''' is a tree native to Puerto Rico, with a habitat that extends into the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean region.<ref name="uno">{{Cite journal |first=Ariel E. |last2=Wadsworth |first2=Frank H. |title=Tabonuco |url=https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/dacryodes/excelsa.htm |journal=United States Department of Agriculture|last=Lugo}}</ref> Its English vernacular names include '''gommier''' and '''candlewood'''.<ref>[http://eol.org/pages/583026/overview ''Dacryodes excelsa, "Candlewood": Overview.''] Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 18 September 2013.</ref> Its Spanish common name is '''''tabonuco'''''.<ref>[http://www.fs.fed.us/global/iitf/Dacryodesexcelsa.pdf ''Dacryodes excelsa (Vahl) "Tabonuco": Burseraceae, Familia de las burseras.''] Ariel E. Lugo & Frank H. Wadsworth. USDA Forest Service. Retrieved 18 September 2013.</ref>
== Description == ''Dacryodes excelsa'' is distinguished by wide, low buttresses, a columnar trunk, smooth gray bark, and pinnate leaves composed of five to seven fragrant, dark-green leaflets. When wounded, the tree exudes a flammable, fragrant, and transparent resin that hardens and turns white upon exposure.<ref name="uno" /> The tree can grow to around {{convert|115|ft}} and 71 in (180 cm) in diameter. It grows best in soil with a PH of 4.5–5.5.<ref name="PLANTS">{{PLANTS | symbol = DAEX | taxon = Dacryodes excelsa | access-date = 22 August 2021}}</ref>
These large trees tend to be concentrated on upper slopes and ridges, where they can form groups with roots are grafted together, thus forming a unified group of trees that provides them with superior anchorage against hurricane-force winds. In Puerto Rico, the trees are native to elevations of 660–2,800 feet (200–900 m).
In Puerto Rico, the tree is found in the Luquillo mountains,<ref name="Richards">{{cite book|last1=Richards|first1=P.W.|title=The Tropical Rain Forest. An Ecological Study.|date=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|edition=2nd|location=Cambridge}}</ref> as well as in Toro Negro State Forest in Puerto Rico's Cordillera Central.<ref>[http://www.drna.gobierno.pr/biblioteca/publicaciones/hojas-de-nuestro-ambiente/30-Toro%20Negro%20ultimo.pdf ''Bosques de Puerto Rico: Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro.''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150807061645/http://www.drna.gobierno.pr/biblioteca/publicaciones/hojas-de-nuestro-ambiente/30-Toro%20Negro%20ultimo.pdf |date=August 7, 2015 }} Hojas de Nuestro Ambiente. July 2008. [Publication/Issue: P-030] Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. Retrieved 13 September 2013.</ref> Many of these trees are estimated to be upwards of 400 years in age.<ref name="uno" /> In Dominica, the tree is found in Morne Trois Pitons National Park<ref>{{Cite web |last=UNEP-WCMC |date=2017-05-22 |title=MORNE TROIS PITONS NATIONAL PARK |url=http://world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/morne-trois-pitons-national-park |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=World Heritage Datasheet |language=en}}</ref> and along the Syndicate Nature Trail.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Gommier |url=https://www.dom767.com/dompedia/gommier-tree-dominica/ |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=DOM767 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Syndicate Nature Trail - Ministry of Tourism |url=https://tourism.gov.dm/images/brochures/Syndicate%2018Aug14.pdf |access-date=2024-01-06 |website=tourism.gov.dm |publisher=Dominica Ministry of Tourism}}</ref> In Guadeloupe, the tree is found in Basse-Terre Nord.
== Uses == Wood from the ''Dacryodes excelsa'' can be used for furniture, cabinetry, and general construction,<ref name="uno" /> as well as for constructing fishing vessels. In Puerto Rico, the island's first inhabitants used resin from the tree to make candles and torches, to caulk boats, as incense, and for medicinal purposes. The Puerto Rican parrot, an endangered species, feeds on the tree's seeds.<ref name="uno" /> In Dominica, the Kalinago historically used wood from the tree to build dugout canoes,<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shearn |first=Isaac |date=2020-03-01 |title=Canoe societies in the Caribbean: Ethnography, archaeology, and ecology of precolonial canoe manufacturing and voyaging |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278416519300170 |journal=Journal of Anthropological Archaeology |volume=57 |article-number=101140 |doi=10.1016/j.jaa.2019.101140 |issn=0278-4165|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and a tradition that continues today.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Admin |date=2013-04-11 |title=Kalinago dugout canoe gets attention |url=https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/culture/kalinago-dugout-canoe-gets-attention/ |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=Dominica News Online |language=en-US}}</ref> In Guadeloupe, the island's indigenous people also used these trees to build their canoes (''kanawa'').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Solitude (hiking trail): Basse-Terre Nord |url=https://geotrek.guadeloupe-parcnational.fr/api/en/treks/4967/solitude.pdf |website=Parc National de la Guadeloupe}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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excelsa Category:Trees of the Caribbean Category:Flora of Puerto Rico Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status Category:Trees of Dominica