Puerto Rican Moist Forests
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Puerto Rican Moist Forests
The Puerto Rican moist forests are a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Puerto Rico. They cover an area of . Lowland forests Lowland forests are found throughout the island's coastal lowlands except for the dry southwest. Characteristic tree species include ''Hymenaea courbaril'', Palma de Coroso (''Acrocomia media''), ''Nectandra coriacea'', and ''Zanthoxylum martinicense''. Trees reach a height of in the northern portions, but are shorter elsewhere. Several species are adapted to dry periods by being deciduous or semi-deciduous. Montane forests Montane forests cover the Sierra de Luquillo and the higher peaks of the Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico), Cordillera Central. Trees at middle elevations reach a height of and a diameter of . Common trees of the Sierra de Luquillo include ''Cyathea arborea'', ''Prestoea acuminata'', ''Cecropia peltata'', and ''Ocotea'' species. ''Weinmannia pinnata'', ''Brunellia comocladifoli ...
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Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico)
The Cordillera Central ( English: "Central Mountain Range") is the only mountain range in the main island of Puerto Rico, consisting of three subranges: the western-central ''Cordillera Central'', the southeastern Sierra de Cayey, and the northeastern Sierra de Luquillo. Bordered by the Northern Karst Belt to the northwest and costal plains to the north and south, the numerous ridges and foothills of the three subranges combined extend throughout the island. Concentrated in the western to central region of the island, the eponymous main subrange of ''Cordillera Central'' originates in the municipality of Mayagüez and merges with the Sierra de Cayey subrange on the town boundary between the municipalities of Barranquitas and Aibonito. At 1,338 meters (4,390 ft) on the town line between Ponce and Jayuya, Cerro de Punta is the summit of the ''Cordillera Central'' and the highest point in Puerto Rico. History The region of the Cordillera Central has been inhabited si ...
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Cyathea Arborea
''Cyathea arborea'' (vernacular English: West Indian treefern, vernacular Spanish: ''helecho gigante'' or ''palo camarón'') is a plant of the family Cyatheaceae in the order Cyatheales. Distribution This species of tree fern is native to the Caribbean, including Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, and the Lesser Antilles from the Virgin Islands to Tobago. Description This perennial fern can reach a height of 27 feet. It has a thornless trunk measuring from 3 to 5 inches. The surface of the trunk is hard with a soft, white core. Its crown has 10 or more leaves in the form of a fan. When they are young, its leaves are rolled up and as they grow they unroll until they reach their horizontal position. As with all ferns, species of the Cyatheaceae reproduce from spores. These are produced in small sporangia on the bottom side of their leaves.Mowbray, Alan M. Bosque Nacional del Caribe Guía Interpretativa de Pa ...
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Maricao State Forest
Maricao State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Maricao'') is a state forest located in the western Cordillera Central mountains of Puerto Rico. It is commonly known as ''Monte del Estado'' because it was one of the first forest reserves in Puerto Rico to be designated a ''state forest'' in its official name. With an area of , the Maricao State Forest is the largest of the 20 forestry units of the Puerto Rico state forest system. History The Maricao State Forest was created after a proclamation on December 22, 1919, by then Governor of Puerto Rico Arthur Yager. Geography The forest location makes its environment unique in Puerto Rico for its humid climate, its serpentinite soils and its high rate of animal and plant endemicity. The forest is located on the western region of the Cordillera Central of Puerto Rico and encompasses of land in a high rainfall area through the municipalities of San Germán, Sabana Grande and Maricao. Climate In summer the climate is war ...
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Cambalache Forest Reserve
Cambalache State Forest and Reserve (Spanish: ''Bosque estatal de Cambalache'', also referred to as ''Parque nacional de Cambalache'') is a nature reserve and one of the 20 state forests in the territory of Puerto Rico. The Cambalache State Forest is located in the municipalities of Arecibo and Barceloneta in northern Puerto Rico. History The Cambalache State Forest was proclaimed in 1943 through a deal between the United States Forest Service and the Land Authority of Puerto Rico (''Autoridad de Tierras'') as part of a research program dedicated to the ecological and geological study of the island's Northern karst. The forest was first known as the Cambalache Experimental Forest. It was proclaimed a state forest in 1973. Description The forest reserve protects steep limestone hills known as mogotes, which are covered in patches of moist forests. The elevation ranges from above mean sea level. Average rainfall is per year, with the temperature varying from . Mogotes orien ...
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Dicranopteris
''Dicranopteris'' (forkedfern) is a genus of tropical ferns of the family Gleicheniaceae. There are about 20 described species. Phylogeny , ''Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...'' accepted the following species: Phylogeny of ''Dicranopteris'' Unassigned species: *'' Dicranopteris alternans'' (Mett.) Yan & Wei *'' Dicranopteris clemensiae'' Holttum *'' Dicranopteris dolosa'' Copel. *'' Dicranopteris elegantula'' Pic.Serm. *'' Dicranopteris lanigera'' (D.Don) Fraser-Jenk. *'' Dicranopteris latiloba'' (Holtt.) Yan & Wei * ''Dicranopteris'' × ''nepalensis'' Fraser-Jenk. *'' Dicranopteris nervosa'' (Kaulf.) Ching *'' Dicranopteris pubigera'' (Blume) Nakai *'' Dicranopteris rufinervis'' (Mart.) Ching *'' Dicranopteris schomburgkiana'' (Sturm ...
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Coquí
Coquí is a common name for several species of small frogs in the genus ''Eleutherodactylus'' native to Puerto Rico. They are Onomatopoeia, onomatopoeically named for the very loud mating call which the males of two species, the common coqui and the upland coqui, make at night. The coquí is one of the most common frogs in Puerto Rico, with more than 20 different species found within its territory, including 13 in El Yunque National Forest. Fossil and genetic evidence supports coquís having inhabited Puerto Rico for more than 30 million years. Other species of this genus can be found in the rest of the Caribbean and elsewhere in the Neotropics, in Central and South America. The coquí is an unofficial national symbol of Puerto Rico; there is a Puerto Rican expression that goes, "Soy de aquí, como el coquí", which translates to "I'm from here, like the coquí." Characteristics ''Eleutherodactylus'' spp. are small tree frogs that can vary in color. These frogs can be a mixtu ...
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Puerto Rican Amazon
The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot ( Spanish: ''cotorra puertorriqueña'') or ''iguaca'' (Taíno), is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neotropical genus '' Amazona''. Measuring , the bird is a predominantly green parrot with a red forehead and white rings around the eyes. Its closest relatives are believed to be the Cuban amazon (''Amazona leucocephala'') and the Hispaniolan amazon (''Amazona ventralis''). The Puerto Rican amazon reaches sexual maturity at between three and four years of age. It reproduces once a year and is a cavity nester. Once the female lays eggs she will remain in the nest and continuously incubate them until hatching. The chicks are fed by both parents and will fledge 60 to 65 days after hatching. This parrot's diet is varied and consists of flowers, fruits, leaves, bark and nectar obtained from the forest canopy. The species is the only remaining na ...
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Critically Endangered
An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of the 157,190 species currently on the IUCN Red List, 9,760 of those are listed as critically endangered, with 1,302 being possibly extinct and 67 possibly extinct in the wild. The IUCN Red List provides the public with information regarding the conservation status of animal, fungi, and plant species. It divides various species into seven different categories of conservation that are based on habitat range, population size, habitat, threats, etc. Each category represents a different level of global extinction risk. Species that are considered to be critically endangered are placed within the "Threatened" category. As the IUCN Red List does not consider a species extinct until extensive targeted surveys have been conducted, species that a ...
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Cloud Forest
A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level, formally described in the ''International Cloud Atlas'' (2017) as silvagenitus. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they are also referred to as mossy forests. Mossy forests usually develop on the mountain pass, saddles of mountains, where moisture introduced by settling clouds is more effectively retained. Cloud forests are among the most biodiversity-rich ecosystems in the world, with a large number of species directly or indirectly depending on them. Other moss forests include black spruce/feathermoss Climax community, climax forest, with a moderately dense canopy and a forest fl ...
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Podocarpus Coriaceus
''Podocarpus coriaceus'', commonly known as the yucca plum pine, is a species of conifer, an evergreen tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found in the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Description ''Podocarpus coriaceus'' is a small tree rarely exceeding in height. The bark is thick and smooth when young, growing fissured and flaky with age. The branches are spreading, and often contorted. The leathery leaves grow in opposite pairs and are up to long and wide. They have parallel sides and straight margins, the upper surface being dark green and the underside dull green. The pollen cones and seed cones grow in the axils of the leaves, the seed cones having short stalks and developing into succulent red fruits about , each containing a single seed. Distribution and habitat This tree is endemic to the West Indies where it has a unique distribution. It is found in the arc of islands from Trinidad to Hispaniola but ...
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Brunellia Comocladifolia
''Brunellia comocladifolia'', commonly known as the West Indian sumac, is a species of tree in the family Brunelliaceae. It is native to Central America, the West Indies, and northern South America. Description ''Brunellia comocladifolia'' is a small tree growing to a height of about with a spreading crown. The leaves and young shoots are clad in rusty coloured hairs and the foliage often has a reddish tinge. The pinnate leaves have toothed margins and are up to long. They are in opposite pairs, with five to eleven pairs of elliptical to oblong leaflets and a terminal leaflet. The leaflets have rounded bases and acuminate tips and are up to long and wide. The underside of the leaflets are clad in short, velvety hairs. Male and female flowers are on separate trees. They are both very small and are borne in panicles clad in short hairs. The flowering period is April to August and the fruits appear from June to October. Distribution and habitat ''Brunellia comocladifolia'' is n ...
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Weinmannia Pinnata
''Weinmannia pinnata'', commonly known as the bastard briziletto, is a species of tree in the family Cunoniaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, South America and the West Indies. It typically grows in wet habitats at high elevations, and is one of the species found in dwarf forests perpetually wreathed in clouds. Description ''Weinmannia pinnata'' is a large shrub some tall which sometimes grows into a small tree. The trunk can reach in diameter and the bark exudes an astringent gum. The pinnate leaves are up to long and are stalkless. They are arranged in opposite pairs and have a winged midrib. The nine to twenty leaflets are oval, have serrated margins and rusty-brown hairs on the underside. The small flowers are in spikes similar to those of the bottlebrush; the buds are tinged pink and the flowers are white with pink centres. The fruits are dry and red, and divided in two parts. They are tipped by the remains of the long style. Distribution and habitat In So ...
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