| Callicarpa ampla | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Callicarpa |
| Species: | C. ampla |
| Binomial name | |
| Callicarpa ampla | |
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.
The capa rose was first collected in Puerto Rico by Heinrich Wydler in 1827. However, it was not until Schaur in 1847 that this plant was identified as the capa rose. Since that time, there have been only seven individuals collected, all but one from Puerto Rico. The exception was collected from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands by Riedle, but none have been discovered there since. It is questionable whether the species is extirpated from the area, or whether it existed there at all. [2] Once spread through Puerto Rico, it is now only located in the Luquillo Mountains, specifically the palo Colorado forest region. [3]
The kingdom indicated this species is a plant. The subkingdom implies that this species is a vascular plant: It has a system of tissues (roots, leaves, and stems) allowing food and water to travel. [4] The superdivision is the classification for seed plants, and the division categorizes the capa rose as a flowering plant. The class indicates the species to be a dicotyledon. The embryo inside each seed produces leaves, or cotyledons, when germinated. This species produces two leaves, thus dicotyledon. [5] The most common characteristic of the subclass of this species is the tight cluster of individual flowers, showing the appearance of one larger flower. [6] The order indicates that the capa rose has opposite, or pairs of symmetrical, leaves. [7] The family is almost all tropical plants with clustered flowers, most native to the western hemisphere. [8] The genus classifies this flower as a beautyberry. [7]
Capa rose is considered a small evergreen tree or shrub. It can grow up to 15 metres (49 ft) tall. When twigs are young, they are whitish color. [2] The branches are tetragonal, meaning four-sided. The leaves are broad at the middle and taper to the end, somewhat of an elliptical shape that is 8–35 centimetres (3.1–13.8 in) long and 3.5–8 centimetres (1.4–3.1 in) wide. The leaves are a dark green on top and a lighter green beneath. The veins are raised on the bottom with whitish scurfy, and the top is smoother and shiny. The flowers are actinomorphic, or star-shaped. The petals are white and approximately 1.7 millimetres (0.067 in) wide by 1.8 millimetres (0.071 in) long. It is also hermaphroditic, having both male stamens and female pistils and ovary. There are four 5.2 millimetres (0.20 in) long stamens and one 1 millimetre (0.039 in) wide ovary. The berries produced are about 6 millimetres (0.24 in) in diameter and contain four seeds. Ripened seeds are purple, and immature seeds are white. [3]
Presently, the capa rose only exists in Puerto Rico, specifically within the Caribbean National Forest. That forest is divided into several regions of plants, and the capa rose is located in the Palo Colorado region. There were two sites reported in the Rio Blanco district of the Nauguabo municipality. Only one site was discovered in the Mameyes II district, and two sites were in the Jimenez district, both of the Rio Grande municipality. [3]
The Luquillo Mountains are about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the nearest shore. The mountains’ highest elevation above sea level is over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), with precipitation increasing at higher elevations. [9] The palo Colorado region makes up about 17 percent of the national forest. It occurs at elevations higher than 600 metres (2,000 ft). [3] The average annual precipitation for the palo Colorado region is from 300 to 450 centimetres (120 to 180 in). However, the off-season for rainfall is from February to April. The humidity ranges from 90 to 100 percent. The mean temperature in this region is about 21 °C (70 °F). The capa rose grows on the slopes of the mountains, which protects it from severe wind. However, hurricanes do occur in that area from time to time. [3]
Not only is the species extremely localized, found in only one section of one country, it is also on an island. This isolation alone causes the species to be at high risk for extinction. However, the capa rose is also facing habitat loss. Its habitat is being lost to deforestation and agriculture (World Conservation Union, 2007). Because Puerto Rico is considered United States territory, the forest habitat for the rose is managed by the USDA Forest Service. Forest management such as trails, cutting, agriculture and shelter construction all endanger the plant further. [3] There are other factors affecting the rapid decline of the plant. There is a very low number of plants in Puerto Rico. The loss of just one plant greatly endangers its survival. The risk of the plant being collected due to its rarity and ornamental value is yet another threat, and for this reason the Forest Service did not list its habitat as critical. This would publish detailed information about the location of the plants, and possibly increase the instances of collection (Fish and Wildlife Service, 1992). The location of the capa rose also suffers a lot of damage due to hurricanes. These hurricanes wipe out existing plants and damage locations for future seedlings to develop. [3] They are also poor reproducers and dispersers, so the protection of the individuals and habitat are all the more crucial (World Conservation Union, 2007).
The capa rose was listed as endangered in 1992. [10] The recovery plan was implemented in 1995. It outlines what actions should be taken to protect the plant from further loss and increase its population. A management plan required steps to protect the plant and its habitat.
The geography of Puerto Rico consists of an archipelago located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic or Hispaniola, 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. El Yunque National Rainforest is located on the slopes of the Sierra de Luquillo mountains, encompassing 28,000 acres of land, making it the largest block of public land in Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rican dry forests are a tropical dry forest ecoregion located in southwestern and eastern Puerto Rico and on the offshore islands. They cover an area of 1,300 km2 (500 sq mi). These forests grow in areas receiving less than 1,000 mm (39 in) of rain annually. Many of the trees are deciduous, losing their leaves during the dry season which normally lasts from December to April.
The Puerto Rican amazon, also known as the Puerto Rican parrot or iguaca, is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neotropical genus Amazona. Measuring 28–30 cm (11.0–11.8 in), 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 and the Hispaniolan amazon.
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.
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.
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.
Myrcia sintenisiana 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.
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.
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.
Dacryodes excelsa is a tree native to Puerto Rico with a habitat that extends into the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean region. Its English vernacular names include gommier and candlewood. Its Spanish common name is tabonuco. According to Richards, "it is the most conspicuous large emergent tree" in the Luquillo mountains of Puerto Rico. It is also found in Toro Negro State Forest, in Puerto Rico Cordillera Central. Dacryodes excelsa grows to around 115 feet (35 m), and grows best in soil with a PH of 4.5–5.5.
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.
Ottoschulzia rhodoxylon is a rare species of tree in the family Icacinaceae known by the common name pincho palo de rosa. It is native to Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. When it was listed as an endangered species under the United States' Endangered Species Act in 1990 there were only nine individuals remaining on Puerto Rico.
The Northeast Ecological Corridor Nature Reserve (NECNR) refers to an area designated as a protected Nature Reserve located on the northeast coast of Puerto Rico, between the municipalities of Luquillo and Fajardo. Specifically, the lands that comprise the NEC are located between Luquillo's town square to the west and Seven Seas Beach to the east, being delineated by PR Route # 3 to its south and the Atlantic Ocean to its north. It was decreed as a protected area by former Puerto Rico Governor Aníbal S. Acevedo-Vilá in April 2008, a decision reversed by Governor Luis G. Fortuño-Burset in October 2009, although he later passed a law in June 2012 re-designated as nature reserve two-thirds of its lands, after intense lobbying and public pressure. Later, in 2013, Governor Alejandro García-Padilla signed a law declaring all lands within the NEC a nature reserve. The area comprises 2,969.64 acres, which include such diverse habitats as forest, wetlands, beaches, coral communities, and a sporadically bioluminescent lagoon. The Corridor is also home to 866 species of flora and fauna, of which 54 are considered critical elements, meaning rare, threatened, endangered and endemic species classified by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), some even designated as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). These include, among others, federally endangered species such as the plain pigeon, the snowy plover, the Puerto Rican boa, the hawksbill sea turtle and the West Indian manatee. The beaches along the NEC, which are 8.74 kilometers long are important nesting grounds for the leatherback sea turtle, which starts its nesting season around April each year.
Rio Abajo State Forest is a forest preserve in Puerto Rico owned by the Department of Natural Resources and one of the 20 state forests in the island. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1980 and constitutes an area of 3,590 acres. It consists mostly of subtropical wet and moist karst forest. Mogotes and sinkholes fill the landscape. The forest preserve is located in the municipalities of Arecibo and Utuado. In addition to its ecological value the forest also contains a number of archaeological sites.
Prestoea montana is a perennial palm in the family Arecaceae. It is considered a synonym of Prestoea acuminata var. montana.
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.
Guilarte State Forest is one of the 20 forests that make up the public forests system in Puerto Rico. The forest is located in the eastern half of the Central Mountain Range or Cordillera Central. The main geographical feature of the forest reserve is Monte Guilarte, which is Puerto Rico's 7th highest mountain at 3,950 feet above sea level. While Monte Guilarte is located in the municipality of Adjuntas, the forest's borders also include parts of Guayanilla, Peñuelas and Yauco.
