Colubrina triflora Brongn. ex G. Don, Gen. Hist. 2: 36. 1832; Rhamnus triflora Sessé & Moc.;  C. guatemalensis Standl., C. mollis Lundell

Shrubs or trees, 2--10 m, bark sometimes described as smooth or scaly, unarmed; young branches pale ferruginous or tawny-pilose or with trichomes spreading, bud scales not seen, bud scale remnants on branches rarely seen. Leaves alternate; blades 7.5—14.5 x 3—7.5 (10) cm, lanceolate, membranaceous, adaxial surface drying brown-green, abaxial surface drying brown-green or green, 3 or 4 pairs of lateral veins, adaxial surface with pale, straight, appressed and ascending trichomes, abaxial surface pale ferruginous or tawny pilose, glands on abaxial surface near apex of teeth, circular or obovate and flat with raised margin, base truncate (or rarely cordate) and then markedly decurrent, margin more or less regularly crenate with 0.5—2 (3) teeth/cm, or irregularly toothed with 1—4 teeth per side, 2--3 cm between teeth, glands not on actual margin, apex acuminate, rarely obtuse and then cuspidate; stipules usually caducous, 3—7.5 x 0.25--1 mm, spiraling to curving, linear; petiole (8) 10—25 mm, glands at junction of petiole and blade absent. Inflorescence axillary, usually a compound corymbose or divaricate cyme, solitary in leaf axil, less frequently a solitary simple cyme or fascicle of simple cymes, cymes 0.5—1.5 x 0.7—1.2 cm, tawny or ferruginous-pilose, bracteoles persistent, peduncle 0—1.5 (3.5) mm. Flowers on pedicels 1.5—5 x 0.25—0.5 mm, in fruit 3--9 x 0.25—0.5 mm; hypanthium 0.25—1 x 1.5—2.5 mm. Sepals 1—1.5 mm. At anthesis disc nearly filling the mouth of the hypanthium and totally hiding the inferior ovary, glabrous. Mature fruit 5—7 mm, red, basal 1/3 concealed by hypanthium 2—2.5 mm, epicarp and mesocarp breaking regularly with and initially adhering to endocarp, later separating or sometimes separating early and breaking irregularly, columnella absent. Seeds 3—3.6 mm, obovoid, shiny black or dark red-brown, seeds not retained on receptacle after fruit breaks away, aril not seen on seed or receptacle.

Rara en bosques secos, Managua; 40–200 m; fl oct–nov, fr dic; Moreno 4223, Stevens 21939; México a Costa Rica.