Flora of Puerto Rico

Magnolia splendens, commonly known as the laurel magnolia, shining magnolia, or locally as the laurel sabino, is a magnolia native to eastern Puerto Rico. It is a medium to large evergreen tree 16–80 ft (4.9–24.4 m) tall with dark green leaves and showy cream or white flowers. The wood is aromatic, giving its common epithet of 'laurel'. It was described by German botanist Ignatz Urban in 1899.

Magnolia portoricensis is a tree of the Caribbean region. Its vernacular names include jagüilla and Puerto Rico magnolia. It is native to Puerto Rico and it is found in the Toro Negro State Forest. It is an endangered tree and endemic to Puerto Rico. It is a dicot and a part of the family Magnoliaceae. It is an uncommon tree, found primarily in the central and western mountains at 500 to 925 m above sea level.

Eugenia haematocarpa is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is classified as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and there has been a plan for its recovery in place for some years. Its common names include uvillo and Luquillo Mountain stopper. Specimens of this tree were first collected in 1939 in Naguabo. It is known from the Caribbean National Forest and the Sierra de Cayey on the eastern side of the island of Puerto Rico. It has been observed growing amongst Syzygium jambos, Prestoea montana, Tabebuia

Callicarpa ampla, also called the capa rose, is a species of plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is found in Puerto Rico in the Caribbean region. It is threatened by habitat loss and is a critically endangered plant species.

Brunfelsia densifolia is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by the common name Serpentine Hill raintree. It is native to Puerto Rico. This plant is a shrub that grows on serpentine soils containing high amounts of magnesium, nickel, iron, and chromium, and some calcium and nitrogen. It produces long, tubular yellow flowers. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant, but in the wild it is endangered due to habitat loss as land is consumed for agriculture in Puerto Rico.

Begonia decandra, the native begonia or corazón de poeta, is a species of flowering plant in the family Begoniaceae, found only in Puerto Rico. An understory herb, its veins exude red sap when crushed. The plant prefers low light, with excessive light exposure sometimes leading to death. The white flowers most commonly bloom from April to October.

Solanum ensifolium is a species of plant in the family Solanaceae endemic to Puerto Rico. Commonly known as erubia, it is nearly extinct due to habitat loss. Synonyms Solanum drymophilum O.E.Schulz Solanum longifolium Pav. ex Dunal Solanum congestiflorum var. longifolium is S. crispum Solanum longifolium of Sessé & Mociño actually refers to the S. muricatum of Aiton. Solanum longifolium of Dunal is Solanum subinerme. Solanum nudum var. longifolium refers to S. sieberi

Passiflora tulae, the mountain love in the mist, pink passionflower, or tagua-tagua serrana, is a plant species in the family Passifloraceae. It is native to Puerto Rico.

Goetzea elegans, also called beautiful goetzea, mata buey, or matabuey (Spanish: ox-killer), is a species of plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family of flowering plants. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. Today it is limited to the northwestern corner of the island because of deforestation and other consumption of its habitat for human use. It is federally listed as an endangered species in the island. This is a shrub or a tree which can reach 9 metres (30 ft) in height. The leaves are shiny dark green and oval in shape. It bears yellow-orange, funnel-shaped flowers. The fruit is a

Banara vanderbiltii is a rare species of plant in the willow family known by the common name Palo de Ramón. It originates from Puerto Rico in the hills of Rio Lajas, and the east peak of "Tetas de Cayey" mountains in Salinas, where there are fewer than 20 known individuals left in the wild. At the time it was listed as an endangered species of the United States in 1987, there were only six plants remaining. The plant was discovered in 1899 and named for Cornelius Vanderbilt, who financed plant-collecting expeditions.

Eugenia woodburyana (Woodbury's stopper) is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. It is threatened by habitat loss. E. woodburyana is an evergreen tree which grows up to 6 metres (20 ft) tall. It has hairy oval leaves up to 2 centimeters long by 1.5 wide which are oppositely arranged. The inflorescence is a cluster of up to 5 white flowers borne in the leaf axils. The fruit is an approximately spherical red berry with eight wings, up to a diameter of 2 centimeters. The tree grows in

Crescentia portoricensis, commonly known as Higüero De Sierra in Spanish or Calabach in English, is a species of plant in the family Bignoniaceae. It is a perennial evergreen shrub endemic to Puerto Rico. It is threatened by habitat loss. C. portoricensis can grow up to 6 meters and produces a yellowish-white bell shaped flower that ripens into dark green fruits.

Zamia portoricensis, also known in Puerto Rican Spanish as marunguey, is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to the Susúa State Forest region of western Puerto Rico. Z. portoricensis is part of the Zamia pumila species complex.

Xylosma pachyphylla, commonly known as spiny logwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae, that is endemic to Puerto Rico. It can be found in forests on the island's western mountains, where it grows in serpentine soils. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Trichilia triacantha, the bariaco, is a species of plant in the family Meliaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico.

Goniopteris yaucoensis, synonym Thelypteris yaucoensis, is a rare species of fern known by the common name Puerto Rico maiden fern. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is known from only three localities. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. This fern was placed on the endangered species list in 1993. At that time it was known to exist at three locations: two in Yauco and one in Ciales in Puerto Rico. There were a total of about 65 plants known at all three combined. This terrestrial fern has fronds up to 52 centimeters long with the blades divided into 13 to

Ternstroemia luquillensis, the palo colorado, is a species of plant in the Pentaphylacaceae family. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is threatened by habitat loss and has been listed as an endangered species in the United States since 1992 under the Endangered Species Act

Styrax portoricensis, locally known as palo de jazmin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is one of the rarest endemic trees of Puerto Rico and is known to occur only in the northeastern Luquillo Mountains (Sierra de Luquillo) and the north-central Cayey Mountains (Sierra de Cayey).

Pleodendron macranthum (chupacallos) is a rare species of tree in the family Canellaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where there are only three tiny populations remaining. Two individual plants are located in El Yunque and 8 to 10 plants remain in Río Abajo State Forest. This tree is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. This evergreen tree grows up to 10 meters tall and 20 centimeters in diameter. The wood is hard and white in color. The leathery leaves are up to 12.5 centimeters long by 5 wide. The blades are dark green, shiny, and smooth on the edges. Flowers occur

Peperomia wheeleri is a rare species of flowering plant in the pepper family known by the common name Wheeler's peperomia. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is known only from the island of Culebra. It has become rare because of deforestation and grazing by livestock. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. This plant grows on the rocky island Culebra, anchoring in the humus that accumulates on the weathered granodiorite boulders covering its surface. The forest habitat hosts other plants including: Clusia rosea, Bursera simaruba, Ficus citrifolia, Tillandsia

Leptocereus grantianus (sebucan) is a sprawling or suberect, nearly spineless cactus, reaching up to 2 meters in height and 3 to 5 centimeters in diameter. Its elongated stems have from three to five prominent ribs with broadly scalloped edges. Ribs of young joints are thin, and the small areoles or spine-bearing areas may bear from one to three minute, nearly black spines which disappear as the joints grow older. The flowers are solitary at terminal areoles, from 3 to 6 centimeters long, and nocturnal. The outer perianth segments are linear, green, and tipped by an areole like those of the

Gesneria cuneifolia (yerba parrera) is a plant species in the family Gesneriaceae.

Cornutia obovata is a rare species of tree in the mint family, and formerly considered a member of the verbena family. It is endemic to forested slopes in Puerto Rico, where its common names are capá jigüerilla, nigua, and palo de nigua. When it was added to the endangered species list of the United States in 1988 there were only seven individuals known to remain in the wild. By 1998 there were eight plants known. This is considered one population divided amongst a few locations in the mountain forests of the island. This is an evergreen tree which can reach 10 metres (33 ft) in maximum

Brunfelsia portoricensis, the Puerto Rico raintree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it occurs in El Yunque National Forest. Due to its restricted range, it is classified by the IUCN as an endangered species.

Auerodendron pauciflorum is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae. One English language common name is turtlefat. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is known from only one population in Isabela. At the time the plant was federally listed as an endangered species by the United States in 1994, only ten individual plants were known to exist. By 1997, there were 19 known specimens. This is an evergreen shrub with black-dotted green leaves up to 15 centimeters long by 6 wide. Two or three flowers occur in the leaf axils. The shrub is native to the tropical moist forests on

Aristida chaseae is a rare species of grass known by the common name Chase's threeawn. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is known from two locations in the Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge and the Sierra Bermeja. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. It cannot compete with introduced species of grasses, such as Brachiaria subquadripara, which are invading its habitat. This is a perennial grass producing a tuft of stems up to half a meter high or a bit taller. Plants occurring in the deep soils of Cabo Rojo tend to be more robust than those growing in the

Thespesia grandiflora, most commonly known as maga and maga colorada ("red-colored maga"), and also erroneously referred to as amapola (a Puerto Rican term for hibiscus), is a tree in the Malvaceae family of the rosids clade endemic to Puerto Rico, where its flower is officially recognized as the national flower of Puerto Rico. Originally native to the humid, lower limestone mountains of the Cordillera Central and the Northern Karst Belt in the western and north-central regions of the main island, it grows everywhere in the archipelago due to its extensive cultivation. The maga is mostly used

Goniopteris verecunda, synonym Thelypteris verecunda, is a rare species of fern known by the common name Barrio Charcas maiden fern. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is known from only three localities. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. This fern was first described in 1985 as Thelypteris verecunda. It was placed on the endangered species list in 1993. At that time it was known to exist at three locations in Quebradillas, Hatillo, and San Sebastián in Puerto Rico. Two of these localities have only one individual each. At Barrio Bayaney in Hatillo there

Amauropelta inabonensis, synonym Thelypteris inabonensis, is a rare species of fern known by the common name cordillera maiden fern. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is known from only two localities: at the headwaters of Río Inabón and at the Toro Negro State Forest. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. This fern was first described in 1985. It was placed on the endangered species list in 1993. At that time it was known to exist at two locations in the mountain forests of Puerto Rico, one near the Río Inabón in the Toro Negro Commonwealth Forest and one on

Tectaria estremerana is a rare species of fern known by the common name Puerto Rico halberd fern. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. This fern has fronds up to 80 centimetres (31 inches) long, each with a hairy, orange brown stipe. The rachis is hairy and the leaf is divided into a few elongated leaflets. When this plant was placed on the United States' Endangered Species List it was known from a population of 23 individuals in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The ferns are located about 200 metres (220 yards) away from the Arecibo Radio