Vegetative key and description of tree species of Santa Rosa

inner bark has a watery caustic latex. Inflorescences are moroon-red 3 cm long "fingers" on a long peducle. Habitat and Phenology: Rare in upland Santa Rosa, but more common around Playa Naranjo and wetter forests. Flowering has been observed around the Playa Naranjo area early wet season. Comments: The three local species with many spines on their trunks can be easily separated by their leaf form: simple leaves = Hura crepitens, palmately compound leaves = Pachira quinata, pinnate compound leaves = Zanthoxylum setulosum.

Hymenaea courbaril L. "Guapinol"; FABACEAE (CAESALPINOIDEAE). Description: Large emergent tree. Dark green glabrous, compound, alternate leaves with two leaflets.

Each leaflet is usually 6-8 cm in length. Upper sides of leaflets are glossy and have many translucent points when held up to bright light. Distinctive smooth light gray trunk. Fruit are hard indehiscent woody pods 5-15 cm in length. Habitat and Phenology: Large evergreen canopy tree, apparently restricted to moister, more mature forest and cliff bases. The dominant tree in Bosque Humedo. Flowers late dry season. Apparently mast fruits infrequently, although some fruits are produced early wet season of each year. Individuals shed leaves briefly and synchronously during mid dry season Similar Species: Bauhinia ungulata (simple leaves; small tree).

Inga vera Willd. (includes Inga spuria H.&B. ex Willd.) "Guabo, Guaba"; FABACEAE (MIMOSOIDEAE). Description: Medium sized tree. Pinnately compound-even alternate leaves, usually 15-30 cm in length, with a distinctive winged rachis. Usually 5-7 pairs of opposite leaflets, each approxmately 10 cm in length. Leaflet lengths increase from the base to the tip of the leaf. Circular extrafloral nectaries are present on the rachis at the joining of each pair of leaflets. Fruit a narrow legume pod covered in brown hairs, seeds with white, tasty flesh. Fruit is a small version of the Inga ("guaba") fruits eaten locally. Habitat and Phenology: More common tree around wet areas of forest, especially near streams and water holes. Flowers mid to late dry season. Fruits mid wet season. Similar Species: The two other species with leaves with a winged rachis are Bursera tomentosa (serrated leaflets) and Swartzia cubensis (entire leaflets, rachis lacks extrafloral nectaries); Pithecellobium lanceolatum (bipinnate leaves with flattened secondary rachises).

Ixora floribunda (A.Rich.) Griseb.; RUBIACEAE. Description: Small to medium sized tree.

Opposite, simple leaves, usually 9 to 15 cm in length, with small blunt drip tip. Leaves usually clumped at young branch tips. Individuals have broad and conspicuous stipules (approximately 5 mm in length) sometimes with a hair-like tuft. On young branches, stipules tend to cover up most of the region between leaves. Habitat and Phenology: Appearing to be evergreen and apparently more prevalent in the understory of moist evergreen forest (Bosque Humedo). Similar Species: Guettarda macrosperma (convoluted black trunk); Calycophyllum candidissimum (orange and white trunk). See also Couteria hexandra and Exostema mexicanum.

Jacquinia nervosa C. Presl. "Burriquita, Siempre vive"; THEOPHRASTACEAE. Description: Treelet to shrub with individuals characterized by a very stunted appearance.

Small, simple leaves, usually 4-7 cm in length, with a prominent small, sharp, spine at the end. Unique in that individuals are deciduous in the wet season. Small tubular orange-red flowers. Fruit are small hard 1-1.5 cm diameter yellow-green spheres, with a small sharp 45