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Puerto Rican Moist Forests
The Puerto Rican moist forests are a 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. 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 comocladifolia'', and ''Podocarpus coriaceus'' are found in the cloud forests of the highest pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico)
Cordillera Central (English: Central Mountain Range), is the main mountain range in Puerto Rico. The range crosses the island from west to east and divides it into its northern and southern coastal plains. The Cordillera Central runs eastward from the municipality of Maricao in the west to Aibonito in the central eastern region, and on to the Caribbean in the southeast through the Sierra de Cayey. The Central Mountain Range consists of the ''Cordillera Central proper'' and numerous subranges (such as the Sierra de Cayey), foothills and ridges that extend throughout the island. Cerro de Punta is both the highest peak of the Cordillera Central and the highest point in Puerto Rico. The Sierra de Luquillo, where El Yunque is located, is sometimes included as a subrange or eastward extension of the Cordillera Central. History The region of the Cordillera Central has been inhabited since the pre-Hispanic era. During the Spanish colonization of Puerto Rico, the Cordillera Central w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. Tree ferns are an ancient growth form of plant, although Cyatheales evolved fairly recent and are only distantly related to earlier tree ferns. Like other modern fern they originate and almost exclusively grow in tropical and subtropical forests, with one species native to the Mediterranean. This species of tree fern is native to the Caribbean, including Cuba, Hispaniola, and the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico. 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maricao State Forest
Maricao State Forest (Spanish: ''Bosque Estatal de Maricao'') is a state forest located in the eastern Cordillera Central mountains of Puerto Rico. It is commonly known as ''Monte del Estado'' due to the fact that 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 orie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dicranopteris
''Dicranopteris'' (forkedfern) is a genus of tropical ferns of the family Gleicheniaceae. There are about 20 described species. Species , ''Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...'' accepted the following species: Phylogeny of ''Dicranopteris'' Unassigned species: *'' Dicranopteris alternans'' (Mett.) Yan & Wei *'' Dicranopteris clemensiae'' Holttum *'' 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 schomburgkiana'' (Sturm ex Mart.) C.V.Morton *'' Dicranopteris seminuda'' Maxon *'' Dicranopteris seramen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coquí
Coquí is the common name for several species of small frogs in the genus ''Eleutherodactylus'' native to Puerto Rico. They are 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 16 different species found within its territory, including 13 in El Yunque National Forest. 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'' is a small tree frog that can vary in color. These frogs can be a mixture of brown, yellow, green, and gray on the top and the bottom side of their body is either white or yellow. The ey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puerto Rican Amazon
The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot (Puerto Rican Spanish: ''cotorra puertorriqueña'') or ''iguaca'', 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cloud Forest
A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, 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 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 amount of species directly or indirectly depending on them. Other moss forests include black spruce/feathermoss climax forest, with a moderately dense canopy and a forest floor of feathermosses including ''Hylocomium splendens'', ''Pleurozium schreberi'' and ''Ptil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 altitudes, 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 Sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
