Exostema caribaeum aka Caribbean Princewood

Exostema caribaeum is an evergreen shrub or small tree. It belongs to Rubiaceae, the coffee family. The RHS lists princewood and seaside beech as common names. Its native range includes southern Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean. It also reaches Colombia, according to Kew's range record. Useful Tropical Plants lists Venezuela within its wider range. The species is not native to Britain or Ireland.

Plants grow about 10–26 feet [3–8 metres] tall. Useful Tropical Plants also gives 16 feet [5 metres] as a reference height. These figures describe the species, not a confirmed garden range. Its slender branches spread outward from a short trunk. Some plants lack a clear crown of foliage. The trunk can reach about 0.33 feet [0.1 metres] across. The leaves stay on the plant year-round. The supplied accounts give no detailed leaf or bark description. They also give no flower colour, flowering season, or fruit details.

Kew places this species in the wet tropical biome. Local habitat records also show it in dry places. In Guatemala, it grows on rocky slopes with brush. Those records span elevations of 1,312–4,265 feet [400–1,300 metres]. In Jamaica, it grows in dry coastal scrub and woodland. There, limestone soils support it from sea level upward. Recorded sites reach 820 feet [250 metres] above sea level. These wild habitats do not establish its garden water needs. The supplied sources give no cultivation guidance or frost limits. Useful Tropical Plants lists seed as a means of propagation.

People gather this plant from the wild for several uses. Its wood catches fire readily and has served as torch fuel. The wood is hard, heavy, strong, and durable. Its inner wood is pale brown with yellow streaks. The outer sapwood is yellow. People use the timber for fence posts and cabinet work. Other uses include turned canes and decorative wood inlay. The sources do not describe its value in garden planting.

The leaves and bark have a bitter taste. People once used them instead of quinine for fevers, including malaria. This records a past use, not proof of treatment value. Useful Tropical Plants reports no known food uses or hazards. That lack of reports does not establish safety for eating. The supplied accounts give no pest or disease details.