The heartwood varies from yellowish pink through reddish brown while sapwood is generally lighter in color.

It is a good general utility wood where a fairly strong and moderately durable timber is required.

In British Honduras, it was substituted for imported creosoted sleepers but required replacement after 3 or 4 years.

The tree's adaptability to a variety of sites in Puerto Rico has made it popular among soil scientists and foresters for rehabilitation of degraded lands.

[4] It is native to the Caribbean region, including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Hispaniola (both the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (in St. Croix).