Thespesia grandiflora explained

Thespesia grandiflora, most commonly known as Maga, and also referred to as Maga Colorada ("Red Maga") and Puerto Rican hibiscus, is a tree in the family Malvaceae of the rosids clade endemic to Puerto Rico, where its flower is officially recognized as the national flower of the archipelago.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} Although originally native to the humid mountains of limestone in the western and north-central portions of Puerto Rico, today it grows everywhere in the archipelago due to its extensive cultivation.^[5] It is also grown as an ornamental tree in Florida, Hawaii, Honduras and various Caribbean islands.^[5] The maga is mostly used as an ornamental plant, but like the related Thespesia populnea its wood is also valued for its durable timber.^[5]

Flower

The flower of the tree, known as Flor de Maga, is the official national flower of Puerto Rico.^[6] Though this species is contained within the same family as Hibiscus and may sometimes be referred to as such in English, truly it belongs to a different genus and species from true hibiscus, and is more closely related to Cotton.

Growth

The maga tree usually grows no larger than 20 meters.^[5] It is grown for timber and as an ornamental plant.

Bibliography

• Bailey, L.H. 1941. The standard cyclopedia of horticulture. New York: Macmillan. 3,639 p.
• Calvesbert, Robert, Jr. 1970. Climate of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. Climatology of the United States 60-52. Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Department of Commerce, Environmental Science Service Administration, Environmental Data Service. 29 p.
• Holdridge, L.R. 1942. Trees of Puerto Rico. Occasional Paper 1. Río Piedras, PR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Tropical Forest Experiment Station. 105 p. Vol. 1.
• Holdridge, L.R. 1967. Life zone ecology. San José, Costa Rica: Tropical Science Center. 206 p.
• Joland, S.D.; Wiedhopt, R.M.; Cole, J.R. 1975. Tumor inhibitory agent from Montezuma speciosissima (Malvaceae). Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 64(11): 1889-1890.
• Liogier, Henri A.; Martorell, Luis F. 1982. Flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands: a systematic synopsis. Río Piedras, PR: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. 342 p.
• Little, Elbert L., Jr.; Wadsworth, Frank H. 1964. Common trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Agric. Handb. 249. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 548 p.
• Marrero, José. 1942. A seed storage study of maga. Caribbean Forester. 3(4): 173-184.
• Marrero, José. 1947. A survey of the forest plantations in the Caribbean National Forest. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan. 167 p. Tesis de M.S.
• Marrero, José. 1948. Forest planting in the Caribbean National Forest: past experience as a guide for the future. Caribbean Forester. 1: 85-213.
• Martorell, Luis F. 1975. Annotated food plant catalog of the insects of Puerto Rico. Río Piedras, PR: Agricultural Experiment Station. 303 p.
• Neal, Marie C. 1965. In gardens of Hawaii. Special Publication 50. Honolulú: Bernice P. Bishop Press. 924 p.
• Sapath, D.S.; Balaram, P. 1986. Resolution of racemic gossypol and interaction of individual enantiomers with serum albumins and model peptides. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 882(2): 183-186.
• Schubert, Thomas H. 1979. Trees for urban use in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Gen. Tech. Rep. SO-27. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 91 p.
• Weaver, Peter L. 1987. Tree growth in several tropical forests of Puerto Rico. Res. Pap. SO-152. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 15 p.
• Wolcott, George N. 1939. The entomologist looks at maga. Caribbean Forester. 1(1): 29-30.
• Wolcott, George N. 1940. A list of woods arranged according to their resistance to the attack of the “polilla”, the dry-wood termite of the West Indies. Caribbean Forester. 1(4): 1-10.

External links

• Flor de maga at elboricua.com

Endemic frog species to Puerto Rico: Common Coqui

Notes and References

1. http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=THGR2 Thespesia grandiflora DC. (maga).
2. La Reforestacion Gubernamental en Puerto Rico.
3. Web site: Ley Núm. 87 del año 2019 . Act No. 87 of the year 2019 . 18 March 2021 . LexJuris de Puerto Rico . es.
4. Web site: López Maldonado . Cesiach . 21 August 2019 . Entre leyes y múltiples indultos . Between laws and multiple pardons . 16 March 2021 . Primera Hora . Spanish.
5. http://www.fs.fed.us/global/iitf/Thespesiagrandiflora.pdf Thespesia grandiflora (DC.) Urban.
6. Web site: Endemic Plant - Maga Tree . Mowbray . Alan . USDA Forest Service . 2009 . El Yunque National Forest . 16 March 2021 .