Oxandra lanceolata, also known as lancewood in English and chilcahuite in Spanish, is a species of plant in the Annonaceae family. It occurs naturally in Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.[1] [2]
It is an evergreen tree growing up to 15 metres high.[2] Its leaves are 3.5-9.5 cm long, 1.5–4 cm wide and elliptic, lanceolate or oblanceolate in shape, with a rounded base and a sharp tip to the leaf blade. The petiole is bare and grows up to 1–2 mm in length. Its compound fruit are ellipsoidal in shape, reddish-black in colour, 11–13 mm long and 7–9 mm wide. Its wood is used as a raw material,[3] such as from October 1886 onwards for truncheons of the Metropolitan Police.