Clusiaceae

(Hypericaceae, Guttiferae)

Clusia Family, Mangosteen Family

By: George Rogers

Informal family characterization (with data from SMI): A diverse worldwide, mostly tropical, family of 36 genera and 1600 species, the plants ranging in size from herbs (St. Johns Wort, Hypericum) to large trees (Clusia, Calophyllum). Clusiaceae typically (with exceptions) have latex, opposite leaves having entire margins, round flowers having the perianth parts not fused, variable numbers of sepals and petals, numerous stamens, and variable number of carpels fused into a superior ovary. The St. Johns Worts, Hypericum sp., make up one of the largest genera, with over 400 species, many of them weeds in Florida.  Some are marketed as herbal remedies for depression. Clusia has some 300 species. Species important in cultivation include: Calophyllum brasiliense  (C. antillanum), Calophyllum inophyllum, Clusia “guttifera” (see discussion), Clusia rosea (and possibly C. major, see discussion), Garcinia mangostana (Mangosteen), Garcinia spicata, and additional Garcinia species.

Key to Thick-Leaved, Opposite-Leaved Trees and Large Shrubs in Clusiaceae (and Similar Species) Cultivated in South Florida

1.  Plants with clear sap; flowers small and inconspicuous with thick leathery yellowish petals and 2 stamens; leaves notched at the tip and curled downward at the margins, having conspicuous yellow-white veins uneven in spacing and not completely straight alternating with smaller less conspicuous veins…Madagascar-Olive (Noronhia emarginata, in Oleaceae, not Clusiaceae)

1.  Plants with milky or viscous sap; flowers conspicuous, with usually white or reddish petals and numerous stamens; leaves rounded or notched at the tip, usually not with a pronounced apical notch combined with downward marginal curling, the veins uniform, straight, and sometimes not conspicuous…2

2. Cultivated fruit trees (except for Garcinia spicata, which is ornamental).  Petals 4; fruits with one seed per chamber; leaf margins curled downward…Garcinia…7

(Note: An edible (or toxic) fruit tree also in the Clusiaceae but not often seen in Florida, the Mammee-Apple, Mammea americana, has a brown fruit the size of a softball, with bright orange flesh.)

2. Ornamentals. Sepals more than 4; fruits with multiple seeds per chamber…3

3. Leaves tough but not semi-succulent, elliptic, with numerous, conspicuous, very closely spaced, uniform, parallel secondary veins; flowers 1” in diameter; adventitious roots absent…4

3. Leaves partly succulent, often broadest above the middle, the secondary veins not as described above, the veins not conspicuous; flowers 2” in diameter; trees or shrubs with adventitious roots…5

4. Leaves 6.5”-8” long, 4” wide, not perfectly flat…Calophyllum inophyllum (not common)

4. Leaves < 6” long and < 4” wide, flat in the blade and margin…Brazilian Beautyleaf (Calophyllum brasiliense, commonly used for seaside landscaping and in tough settings; young growth red)

5. Leaves to 8” long…Clusia rosea

5. Leaves shorter…6

6. Flowers white with red centers…Clusia lanceolata

6. Flowers pink…Clusia "guttifera"

7. Cultivated fruit tree, the ripe fruit red…Garcinia mangostana (very unusual in Florida, with additional related species discussed under G. mangostana below)

7. Cultivated ornamental shrub or tree, the fruit orange and inedible…Garcinia spicata  (Some additional Garcinia species encountered infrequently as cultivated fruits have orange fruits---see Garcinia mangostana discussion)