Rubiaceae

Caribbean princewood

Exostema caribaeum (Jacq.) Schult.

Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Exostema

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Caribbean princewood: Exostema caribaeum, photographed in Puerto Rico — Photo: Emmett Serrano, CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (2)

English: Caribbean princewood
Haitian Creole: Kenkina

Synonyms

Cinchona caribaea Jacq.
Cinchona caribbeana W.Wright
Cinchona herbacea L.
Cinchona jamaicensis Wright
Cinchona myrtifolia Stokes
Cinchona racemosa Schrank ex Steud.
Exostema caribaeum var. pubescens Borhidi & O.Muñiz
Exostema caribaeum var. velutinum Urb.
Exostema longicuspe Oerst.
Exostema veraensis Kitanov

Characteristics

Growth habit: Shrub, Tree
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Lower 48 states: native, Puerto Rico: native, U.S. Virgin Islands: native

Photos

Photo: Emmett Serrano, CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Exostema

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.