The geography of Puerto Rico consists of an archipelago located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic, west of the Virgin Islands and north of Venezuela. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest and most eastern of the Greater Antilles. With an area of 3,515 square miles (9,104 km2), it is the third largest island in the United States and the 82nd largest island in the world. Various smaller islands and cays, including Vieques, Culebra, Mona, Desecheo, and Caja de Muertos comprise the remainder of the archipelago with only Culebra and Vieques being inhabited year-round. Mona is uninhabited through large parts of the year except for employees of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources.
El Yunque National Forest, formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest, is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest in the United States National Forest System and the United States Forest Service.
Alchorneopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1865. It is native to Central America, the Greater Antilles, and northern South America.
- Alchorneopsis floribunda(Benth.) Müll.Arg. - Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, 3 Guianas, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, NW Brazil
- Alchorneopsis portoricensisUrb. - Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rican spindalis is a bird endemic to the island of Puerto Rico, where it is commonly known as reina mora. The species is widely distributed throughout the island and is an important part of the Puerto Rican ecosystem because of its help in seed dispersal and plant reproduction. The Puerto Rican spindalis has been proposed as the national bird of Puerto Rico.
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.
Brunfelsia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to subfamily Petunioideae of the nightshade family Solanaceae. The 50 or so species have been grouped into the three sections: Brunfelsia, Franciscea and Guianenses, which differ significantly in both distribution and characteristics, although molecular data have revealed that only two sections are natural (monophyletic), namely the Caribbean section Brunfelsia and a common section for all South American species. Linnaeus named the genus for the early German herbalist Otto Brunfels (1488–1534).
Brunfelsia jamaicensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, the nightshades. It is endemic to Jamaica, where it grows in mountain forests above 1400 meters in elevation.
Eugenia haematocarpa is a rare species of plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is classified as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and there has been a plan for its recovery in place for some years. Its common names include uvillo and Luquillo Mountain stopper.
Eugenia woodburyana is a species of plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. It is threatened by habitat loss.
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.
Marlierea sintenisii is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is limited to the Luquillo Mountains. It occurs in El Yunque National Forest in dwarf forest habitat on wet mountain ridges. Its common name is beruquillo.
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.
Psidium sintenisii is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is known from three or four small subpopulations, mainly within El Yunque National Forest. It grows in wet mountain forest habitat. Its common names are Sintenis' guava and hoja menuda.
Styrax portoricensis, locally known as palo de jazmin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. It is endemic to Puerto Rico. It is one of the rarest endemic trees of Puerto Rico and is known to occur only in the northeastern Luquillo Mountains and the north-central Cayey Mountains.
Laguna Tortuguero Natural Reserve is a natural reservoir located between the municipalities of Vega Baja and Manatí in Puerto Rico.
Zephyranthes puertoricensis, known commonly as the Puerto Rico zephyr lily, is a species of flowering plant in the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. It is native to the West Indies, Panama, Colombia, Suriname and Venezuela. It is a member of low elevation grasslands communities and moist forest habitat.
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.
Lepanthes eltoroensis is a species of orchid known by the common name Luquillo Mountain babyboot orchid. It is endemic to El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, growing primarily in the Luquillo Mountains. It is named for the El Toro Trail in the mountains. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Borikenophis portoricensis is a snake endemic to Puerto Rico. It can grow to three feet long.
The Sierra de Luquillo is a mountain range located in the northeastern part of Puerto Rico. Also known as the Luquillo Mountains, these are steep-sided, densely-forested mountains rising to elevations of around 1,075 m (3,527 ft), the highest point being the summit of El Toro, closely followed by that of Pico El Yunque.
