Pleodendron macranthum (chupacallos) is a rare species of tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 in the Canellaceae

Canellaceae

The Canellaceae are a family of flowering plants. The family has sixteen species in six genera. The species are highly aromatic evergreen plants, mostly trees and rarely shrubs, which produce essential oils...

 family. It is endemic to Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, where there are only three tiny populations remaining. Two individual plants are located in El Yunque

El Yunque National Forest

El Yunque National Forest, formerly known as the Luquillo National Forest, and the Caribbean National Forest, is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rain forest in the United States...

 and 8 to 10 plants remain in Rio Abajo Commonwealth Forest. This tree is a federally listed endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

 of the United States.

This evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

 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 singly in the leaf axils. The flower is 2 centimeters wide and has 12 petals. The fruit ripens purple-black and is about 2 centimeters wide.

This tree is rare and limited in distribution because of deforestation

Deforestation

Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....

and habitat modification in the forests of Puerto Rico.