Auerodendron pauciflorum | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rhamnaceae |
Genus: | Auerodendron |
Species: | A. pauciflorum |
Binomial name | |
Auerodendron pauciflorum Alain | |
Auerodendron pauciflorum is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae. One English language common name is turtlefat. [2] It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is known from only one population in Isabela. At the time the plant was federally listed as an endangered species by the United States in 1994, only ten individual plants were known to exist. [3] By 1997, there were 19 known specimens. [4]
This shrub is native to the subtropical moist forests on the limestone hills in the northwestern corner of Puerto Rico. It was nearly eliminated due to several forces in its habitat. The land is privately owned and desirable for development with plans for construction of a resort and cell phone towers. [3] The hills are quarried for limestone and deforestation is ongoing. [3] The plant is already extremely rare, making it vulnerable to extinction from any one event. [3] Vandalism could significantly reduce the population. [3]
This is an evergreen shrub with black-dotted green leaves up to 15 centimeters long by 6 wide. [4] Two or three flowers occur in the leaf axils. [4]
The plant was discovered in 1976. [4] It is so rare that the fruit of the species has not been formally described to science and seedlings have not been noted. [3] When existing plants were surveyed and measured, only one or two were mature enough to reproduce. [4]
The golden coquí is a rare species of frog endemic to Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rican nightjar or Puerto Rican Whip-poor-will is a bird in the nightjar family found in the coastal dry scrub forests in localized areas of southwestern Puerto Rico. It was described in 1916 from bones found in a cave in north central Puerto Rico and a single skin specimen from 1888, and was considered extinct until observed in the wild in 1961. The current population is estimated as 1,400-2,000 mature birds. The species is currently classified as Endangered due to pressures from habitat loss.
The elfin woods warbler is a species of bird endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is local and uncommon. Discovered in 1968 and described in 1972, it is the most recently described New World warbler.
Varronia rupicola, synonym Cordia rupicola, commonly known as the Puerto Rico manjack, is a critically endangered species of flowering shrub in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that is native to the islands of Puerto Rico and Anegada.
Banara vanderbiltii is a rare species of plant in the willow family known by the common name palo de ramon. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where there are fewer than 20 known individuals left in the wild. At the time it was listed as an endangered species of the United States in 1987, there were only six plants remaining.
Buxus vahlii, or Vahl's boxwood, is a rare species of plant in the boxwood family. It is native to Puerto Rico and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where it is known from no more than four populations total. It has probably never been very common, but its distribution has been reduced by deforestation and other human disturbance of its habitat. At the time it was listed as an endangered species of the United States in 1985, it was thought to be endemic to Puerto Rico. Reports that it existed in Jamaica have not been confirmed. A few individuals have been located in St. Croix, some of which are within Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge.
Callicarpa ampla, also called the capa rose, is a species of plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is found in Puerto Rico in the Caribbean region. It is threatened by habitat loss and is a critically endangered plant species.
Calyptranthes thomasiana is a rare species of plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is found on three islands in the Caribbean. There are fewer than 250 individuals total divided amongst the islands of Vieques in Puerto Rico, St. John in the United States Virgin Islands, and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. It has been extirpated from the wild on Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, where it was first described in 1855, and now only grows there in cultivation.
Goetzea elegans, (also called beautiful goetzea, mata buey, or matabuey, is a species of plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family of flowering plants. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. Today it is limited to the northwestern corner of the island because of deforestation and other consumption of its habitat for human use. It is federally listed as an endangered species in the United States.
Myrcia paganii is a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico.
Pleodendron macranthum (chupacallos) is a rare species of tree in the family Canellaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where there are only three tiny populations remaining. Two individual plants are located in El Yunque and 8 to 10 plants remain in Río Abajo State Forest. This tree is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Trichilia triacantha, the bariaco, is a species of plant in the Meliaceae family. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Pine Hill Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve of 403 acres (1.63 km2) located due east of Folsom Lake in the Sierra Nevada foothills, in El Dorado County, California. The reserve was established in 1979, and is managed by the California Department of Fish and Game.
Catesbaea melanocarpa is a rare species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common name tropical lilythorn. It is native to five Caribbean islands: Puerto Rico, St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbuda, and one island in Guadeloupe. The plant is threatened by habitat loss.
Cornutia obovata is a rare species of tree in the mint family, and formerly considered a member of the verbena family. It is endemic to forested slopes in Puerto Rico, where its common names are capá jigüerilla, nigua, and palo de nigua. When it was added to the endangered species list of the United States in 1988 there were only seven individuals known to remain in the wild. By 1998 there were eight plants known. This is considered one population divided amongst a few locations in the mountain forests of the island.
Daphnopsis hellerana is a rare species of flowering plant in the genus Daphnopsis of the family Thymelaeaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where there were only four populations remaining in 1992, with a total of 125 individuals. It was federally listed as an endangered species of the United States in 1988.
Mitracarpus maxwelliae is a rare species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common name Maxwell's girdlepod. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is known only from the Guánica Commonwealth Forest in Guánica. It grows in only one location in a coastal scrub forest and dwarf forest with limestone gravel substrates. Other plants in the habitat include Bucida buceras, Bursera simaruba, Exostema caribaeum, Coccoloba microstachya, Plumeria alba, and Pilosocereus royenii.
Mitracarpus polycladus is a rare species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common name cana gorda girdlepod. It is native to Puerto Rico, where it is known only from the Guánica Commonwealth Forest in Guánica. It can also be found on the island of Saba. It grows in coastal scrub forest and dwarf forest with limestone gravel substrates. Other plants in the habitat include Bucida buceras, Bursera simaruba, Exostema caribaeum, Coccoloba microstachya, Plumeria alba, and Pilosocereus royenii.
Atlantea tulita is a rare species of butterfly known by the common name Puerto Rico harlequin butterfly. This brush-footed butterfly is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is a candidate for United States federal protection as an endangered species. In 2011 a report found federal protection to be warranted, but it was precluded by other actions and it remains a candidate.