Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It has 212 km of Caribbean Sea coastline and 1,016 on the North Pacific Ocean.
Jatropha is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἰατρός (iatros), meaning "physician", and τροφή (trophe), meaning "nutrition", hence the common name physic nut. Another common name is nettlespurge. It contains approximately 170 species of succulent plants, shrubs and trees. Most of these are native to the Americas, with 66 species found in the Old World. Plants produce separate male and female flowers. As with many members of the family Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha contains compounds that are highly toxic. Jatropha species have traditionally been used in basketmaking, tanning and dye production. In the 2000s, one species, Jatropha curcas, generated interest as an oil crop for biodiesel production and also medicinal importance when used as lamp oil; native Mexicans in the Veracruz area developed by selective breeding a Jatropha curcas variant lacking the toxic compounds, yielding a better income when used as source for biodiesel, because of its edible byproduct. Toxicity may return if edible Jatropha is pollinated by toxic types.
The wildlife of Costa Rica comprises all naturally occurring animals, fungi and plants that reside in this Central American country. Costa Rica supports an enormous variety of wildlife, due in large part to its geographic position between North and South America, its neotropical climate, and its wide variety of habitats. Costa Rica is home to more than 500,000 species, which represent nearly 5% of the species estimated worldwide, making Costa Rica one of the 20 countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. Of these 500,000 species, a little more than 300,000 are insects.
The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two countries.
Maquenque Wildlife Refuge, is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area, it was created in 2005 by decree 32405-MINAE.
Selenicereus costaricensis, synonym Hylocereus costaricensis, known as the Costa Rican pitahaya or Costa Rica nightblooming cactus, is a cactus species native to Central America and north-eastern South America. The species is grown commercially for its fruit, called pitaya or pitahaya, but is also an impressive ornamental vine with huge flowers. The species may not be distinct from Selenicereus monacanthus.
Quercus costaricensis is a species of oak native to Central America. It is often found with Quercus copeyensis in the upper montane forests, to 3,100 metres elevation. The leaves are tough and leathery with a short petiole and toothed margin. Wind is the primary pollinator. Squirrels are their main seed predator but also their main disperser as they commonly lose their buried seeds.
The Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and western Panama in Central America.
The Costa Rican páramo, also known as the Talamanca páramo, is a natural region of montane grassland and shrubland of Costa Rica and western Panama.
Quercus copeyensis is a species of oak endemic to the Talamancan montane forests of Costa Rica and Panama. It is commonly called Panamanian oak.
The buff-fronted quail-dove, or Costa Rican quail-dove, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
Quesada is a district of the San Carlos canton, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. It is the head city of the canton of San Carlos. Although Ciudad Quesada is the official name, it is commonly referred to by the area name of San Carlos. Ciudad Quesada is also the most populous city in the canton of San Carlos.
The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio) is the national institute for biodiversity and conservation in Costa Rica. Created at the end of the 1980s, and despite having national status, it is a privately run institution that works closely with various government agencies, universities, business sector and other public and private entities inside and outside of the country. The goals of the institute are to complete an inventory of the natural heritage of Costa Rica, promote conservation and identify chemical compounds and genetic material present in living organisms that could be used by industries such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or others.
The Costa Rican brushfinch or grey-striped brushfinch is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae. It lives in the undergrowth of humid forest, especially near the edges, at altitudes of 300 to 1,200 metres in Panama and Costa Rica.
The black-headed brushfinch is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae. It lives in the undergrowth of humid forest, especially near edges, at altitudes of 300 to 1,200 metres in Colombia and Panama.
Dora Emilia Mora de Retana was a noted Costa Rican botanist, known primarily for her work with orchids. She compiled an extensive catalogue of the variations of the flower found in Costa Rica which became the seminal reference work on the family Orchidaceae in the country for over a decade. There are at least five species of orchids named in her honor and in 2011, a plaque bearing her name was installed at the Lankester Botanical Garden to recognize her contributions to its development.
Although the conservation movement developed in Europe in the 18th century, Costa Rica as a country has been heralded its champion in the current times. Costa Rica hosts an astonishing number of species, given its size, having more animal and plant species than the US and Canada combined while being only 250 miles long and 150 miles wide. A widely accepted theory for the origin of this unusual density of species is the free mixing of species from both North and South America occurring on this "inter-oceanic" and "inter-continental" landscape. Preserving the natural environment of this fragile landscape, therefore, has drawn the attention of many international scholars.
Osa pulchra is a species of rare flowering plant in the monotypic genus Osa, belonging to the family Rubiaceae. There are only two known populations in Costa Rica, with less than a total of thirty individual plants and a small population in Panama. The genus name is derived from that of the Osa Peninsula in southwestern Costa Rica. The plant is a shrub or small tree and has been cultivated in several botanical gardens, including Kew Gardens, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Huntington Botanical Garden.
Utleya is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Ericaceae. It only contains one known species, Utleya costaricensis.
