synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
''Cordia rupicola'', commonly known as the Puerto Rico manjack, is a critically endangered species of flowering
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
The species was discovered by German botanical collector Paul Sintenis in 1886.
Description
''Varronia rupicola'' is a small woody shrub that measures in height. Its leaves are oval-elliptical measuring from . The leaf upper surface is rigidly scabrous, puberulous underneath, and the strigose petioles (the stalk of the leaves) are long. It produces small white flowers which yield a one- seeded red fruit measuring .Proctor, G. 1991. Status survey of ''Cordia rupicola''. In: Puerto Rican Plant Species of Special Concern: Status and Recommendations. Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Distribution and habitat
The species was believed to be endemic to Puerto Rico until it was described from the island of Anegada in 1987. The species was discovered in Los Indios, between Guayanilla and ''
barrio
''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...
'' Barinas in Yauco in 1886. A year later it was found in Guánica. Two reports of a single specimen exist from the island of Vieques but no population has been confirmed. In 1995 fifteen plants were found east of the historical locations at ''El Peñón'' in Peñuelas.
''El Peñón'' is a privately owned
subtropical dry forest
The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...
Bursera simaruba
''Bursera simaruba'', commonly known as gumbo-limbo, copperwood, chaca, West Indian birch, naked Indian, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to the Neotropics, from South Florida to Mexico and the Caribbean ...
''. Average rainfall in the area is less than .Breckon, G. J. and D. A. Kolterman. 1996. Cordia rupicola Urban. Final Report under Cooperative Agreement No. 1448-0004-94-9113 between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus.
Two Anegada sites, each with a few dozen individuals, have been confirmed. Both sites are located in the western part of the island and cover an area of less than . In Anegada the species is locally abundant in limestone and
sand dunes
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
, showing a slight preference for limestone.
The
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
assessment considered all Puerto Rican populations extirpated.