Podocarpus costaricensis

de Laub. 1991

Common names

Cipresillo, ciprecillo, cipresillo amarillo, ciprés blanco, cobola, coloba, lorito [Spanish] Some of these names may also be applied to the similar species, Podocarpus guatemalensis and P. oleifolius (Mill 2015).

Taxonomic notes

Type: Costa Rica, San José, “3 km W of San Marcos de Tarrazú” (label gives different information: 2 km oeste del Cementario de San Pablo de Leon Cortes, 9°40'50"N 84°03'10"W), 1650 m, 1988.08.20, D.J. de Laubenfels 810 (holo MO, iso US). See Mill (2015) regarding issues in defining the type and initial publication. No synonyms; not related to Podocarpus oleifolius var. costaricensis J.Buchholz & N.E.Gray (1948) or Podocarpus oleifolius subsp. costaricensis (J.Buchholz & N.E.Gray) Silba (2010).

Subgenus Podocarpus de Laub., as are all the Central American podocarps. The molecular analysis by Knopf et al. (2011) placed P. costaricensis sister to P. coriaceus, a species of Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles, in turn sister to P. sellowii, a species of southern Brazil. This is not a particularly plausible finding, biogeographically speaking, and likely indicates that further work is needed to better understand phylogenetic relationships pertaining to this species.

Description

Tree to 30 m tall and 40 cm dbh, with spreading branches forming a rounded crown. Bark rough, exfoliating in long, sometimes interlacing strips; outer bark light reddish brown; inner bark pinkish. Twigs diverging at 50-70° from branch, straight or slightly curved, penultimate twigs 20–28 cm long, 3.8–4 mm thick, grayish brown mottled white; ultimate twigs 3–8 cm, diverging at 55-70°, green. Terminal buds bowl-shaped, 4 × 1–1.5 mm when not foliaceous; width of bud equal or narrower than attached twig, composed of 8–10 linear-lanceolate to narrowly ovate scales 2.7–6 mm long, but with a tendency to become foliaceous and then to 13 mm long. Leaves mainly on distal parts of twigs, reddish pink at flush, not glaucous on either surface, maturing deep green and glossy above, medium green and matte below; lasting 1 or 2 years; petiole 1.6–6 mm, narrowly lanceolate to elliptic, broadest at or below the middle, 35–100 × 8–17 mm, 5–7 times as long as broad, straight or slightly falcate, coriaceous and fairly stiff; margins narrowly and shallowly revolute; upper midrib impressed in a narrow groove, lower midrib raised; apex acute to acuminate; base slightly asymmetric, cuneate. Pollen cones borne mostly in groups of 6-11 along the twig, immediately above and immediately below the most recent group of vegetative bud scales. Pollen cone buds 2–5 × 1.6–3.5 mm, ovoid to subglobose, greenish, with ca. 8 basal scales 2–3.2 × 1–1.4 mm. Individual cones subsessile (pedicel < 1 mm), greenish yellow, narrowly cylindrical, 35–55 × 3.7–4.4 mm. Pollen white. Seed cones unknown. New leaves flush from April to July (early in the rainy season); pollen cones active in July and August during the midsummer dry period (Mill 2015).

Podocarpus costaricensis and P. matudae are the only Central American podocarps that have narrowly conical terminal buds with long, narrow bud scales. P. costaricensis has a median groove on the upper (adaxial) leaf surface, while P. matudae has a ridge (sometimes flanked by two grooves). P. salicifolius, mainly found in Venezuela, also has narrowly conical buds but the upper leaf midrib is slightly raised and the pollen cones are long (60–80 mm) (Mill 2015).

Distribution and Ecology

Costa Rica: San José Province, Tarrazú canton. Some specimens from eastern Panama have also been attributed to this species but it seems unlikely, as all confirmed specimens (of which there appear to 7 herbarium collections as inventoried by Mill [2015], and another 9 photo observations subsequently posted to iNaturalist) have derived from a very small area within Costa Rica. Those specimens are from altitudes of 1100-1700 m (Mill 2015). Within its range, mean annual temperature is 19.7°C, with an average minimum in the coldest month of 14.0°C, and a mean annual precipitation of 2620 mm (Biffin et al. 2011, Table S5). The type specimen was collected on a coffee plantation, near other trees of the same species, and with most subsequent collections in similar habitats and at the edge of grazing areas, "very rarely" (with n=7 I presume this means once) within the rainforest. Associated species include Heliocarpus appendiculatus and Zinowiewia costaricensis (Mill 2015 and citations therein).

The IUCN reports that species is in decline, facing a high risk of extinction in the wild due to a limited and severely fragmented distribution that is experiencing ongoing habitat loss. Mill (2015) adds that the extent of occurrence is only 41 km² and the area of occupancy is 16 km², with extant threats including extensive coffee plantations and logging, although the species is fully protected under Costa Rican law.

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.01.23.

Ethnobotany

No uses have been reported (Mill 2015).

Observations

See the collection records on iNaturalist. Most of those photos appear to have been taken at the Cabañas La Vaca Flaca at 9.706°, -84.051° in San Pablo, Costa Rica.

Remarks

The epithet refers to the species' occurrence in Costa Rica.

Citations

Buchholz, J. T. and N. E. Gray. 1948. A taxonomic revision of Podocarpus IV. The American species of section Eupodocarpus, Subsections C and D. J. Arnold Arbor. 29:123–151 (p. 140). Available: Biodiversity Heritage Library, accessed 2023.01.24.

Laubenfels, David J. de. 1991. The Podocarpaceae of Costa Rica. Brenesia 33:120 (note: volume 33 is dated 1990 but published January 1991).

Mill, R. R. 2015. A monographic revision of the genus Podocarpus (Podocarpaceae): III. The species of the Central America and northern Mexico bioregions. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 72 (2): 243–341. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960428615000050.

See also

The species account at Threatened Conifers of the World.