''Sciodaphyllum pittieri'' is a species of flowering plant in genus ''
Sciodaphyllum
''Sciodaphyllum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It was resurrected from ''Schefflera'' in 2020.
Species
The following species are accepted:
*'' Sci ...
''. It is native to the mountain forests of Costa Rica and western
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
.
Description
''Sciodaphyllum pittieri'' is an evergreen tree, which grows up to 25 meters high, thickly branched, with a trunk up to 40 cm in diameter. The bark is thin, flat, and mottled.Magnuson, B., Gargiullo, M. (2008). ''A Field Guide to Plants of Costa Rica''. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, USA.
Its leaves are oblong, up to 45 cm long and 19 cm wide, with a pointed tip. They are glossy on the upper side, and densely rusty-hairy underneath. They grow clustered in spirals at the end of stalks up to 1 m long.
The trees bloom from February to September. The inflorescences are dense drooping cylindrical clusters up to 50 cm long, composed of numerous minute white to pale green flowers. Fleshy fruits form from May to September. They are 1 cm long by 4mm wide, white turning red or puple, and each contains two seeds.
Range and habitat
''Sciodaphyllum pittieri'' is native to the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama, including the
Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands.
Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges:
* Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America
** ...
and
Cordillera de Talamanca
The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two ...
.
It is found in humid
montane forests
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...
from 800 to 3,200 meters elevation, where it is frequently found in clearings and secondary growth. It is a common canopy tree in upper montane forests dominated by the oak ''