''Alfaroa manningii'', or gavilán colorado, is a valued lumber tree of the Walnut family endemic to the premontane Costa Rican

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

. The specific epithet honors the American botanist

Wayne Eyer Manning Wayne Eyer Manning (December 4, 1899 – February 8, 2004) was an American Horticulture, horticulturist and Botany, botanist. Biography In 1920, Manning obtained his Bachelor of Sciences from Oberlin College. In 1926 he received his Doctor of Ph ...

(1899–2004).

Description

''Alfaroa manningii'' grows to 24 m tall, with a

diameter at breast height Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast ...

up to 0.9 m, and small to medium large buttress roots. The bark is reddish brown externally, and yellow orange internally. The sapwood is white, the heartwood pink. The opposite pinnately compound leaves bear eight to twelve (rarely six to eighteen) opposite leaflets. The petiole of the leaf is 5–9 cm long, and the petioles of the leaflets are 2–5 mm long. The entire leaf may be up to 3 m long. (The first two leaves on a seedling are simple, and are followed by several alternate compound leaves.) The upright female inflorescence is born terminally on the current year's growth, containing 40 to 50 blossoms. The male inflorescence is a catkin, up to 18 cm in length; it may grow alone from the current or previous year's growth, in a panicle of up to six paired catkins, or rarely at the base of an androgynous panicle, which ends in the female inflorescence. The

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

male flower has a scent reminiscent of gardenias. The pollen grains have a diameter of 22 micrometres. The female flower is

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

late. The fruit is broadly ovate nut, 3.5 cm in diameter and 3.0 cm long. The hard shell is deeply furrowed, with eight to twelve sharp longitudinal ribs running from the tip to the equator. ''Alfaroa manningii'' is distinguished from the similar '' A. guanacastensis'' by its generally larger leaves (both longer petioles and more leaflets) and large fruits with a thick, heavily corrugated glabrous shell. (''A. guanacastensis'' fruits are hirtellous, longer than they are wide, and have a cartilaginous shell, less than 1 mm thick.)Donald E. Stone: Juglandaceae, in: William Burger (ed.): Flora Costaricensis, Fieldiana Botany, Volume 40, 1977, p. 28-53

Distribution

''Alfaroa manningii'' is only known from a small area in Costa Rica near Rio Platanillo in the northeastern province of Cartago. It often grows together with ''

Oreomunnea pterocarpa ''Oreomunnea pterocarpa'', known locally as gavilán or gavilán blanco, is a species of ''Oreomunnea'' in the family Juglandaceae. It is found in Costa Rica, southeastern Mexico ( Chiapas), and Panama (Coclé Province).Americas Regional Worksho ...

'' (gavilán bianco).

References and external links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q966289 manningii Plants described in 1953