''Alfaroa costaricensis'', also known as campano chile, chiciscua, gaulin, gavilán Colorado, or gavilancillo, is nut bearing timber tree in the

Juglandaceae The Juglandaceae are a plant family known as the walnut family. They are trees, or sometimes shrubs, in the order Fagales. Members of this family are native to the Americas, Eurasia, and Southeast Asia. The nine or ten genera in the family have ...

family. It is native to the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeog ...

, from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, through

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Habitat

''Alfaroa costaricensis'' normally grows in cloudy areas on well-drained soils with slopes of 5% or more at elevations between 600 and 2200 m which receive 1500–2500 mm of precipitation and sustain temperatures of 15 to 20 °C. This tree does not grow well in the shade.

Description

''Alfaroa costaricensis'' is a slow growing tree with pink

heartwood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

. It can reach 27 m in height and 60 cm diameter at breast height (d.b.h.). The seed is a nut, one-chambered at the apex and eight-chambered at the base, which measures 1.6 to 2.5 cm long and 1.4 to 1.6 cm in diameter, and is protected by a hard, thick, brown pericarp. Germination is hypogeal. The leaves are pinnately compound, and are distinguishable from other species by their heavy pubescence. The male inflorescences is a

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

, consisting of approximately ten

catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind- pollinated ( anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in '' Salix''). It contains many, usually unisexual flowers, arra ...

s arranged alternately. The female flowers are sessile on a catkin.A picture of a female inflorescence can be found a
Alfaroa costaricensis
PlantSystematics.org. A line drawing of a branch with leaves and of female flowers can be found in . A picture of a complete tree can be found a

.

Uses

Timber

''Alfaroa costaricensis'' wood is attractive but difficult to saw and finish. It is used for furniture, posts, building lumber, and the production of charcoal.

Wildlife food

Rodents consume many nuts.

References

* Manos, P. S., and Stone, D. E., "Evolution, Phylogeny, and Systematics of the Juglandaceae", ''Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden'', 88''(2) 2001, 231–269.

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1355912 costaricensis Trees of Guatemala Trees of Honduras Trees of Costa Rica Trees of Panama Trees of Colombia Plants described in 1927