Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica £15 
greatest floristic affinity with the Cordillera de Talamanca, which is close and similarly 
high. This affinity is evidenced by species that are shared with the Talamanca range, but 
not the northern cordilleras, e.g., Acaena elongata, Buddleja cordata, Calceolaria ira- 
zuensis, C. mexicana, Chusquea foliosa, C. pittieri, C. tonduzii, C. vulcanalis, Clethra 
pyrogena, Comarostaphylis arbutoides, Corynaea crassa, Cyperus tabina, Escallonia 
myrtilloides, Hedyosmum mexicanum, Huperzia crassa, H. cuneifolia, H. myrsinites, 
Larnax sylvarum, Lozanella enantiophylla, Maianthemum gigas, Melpomene monili- 
formis, Miconia longibracteata, M. schnellii, Morus insignis, Myrcianthes rhopaloi- 
des, Myrrhidendron donnellsmithii, Psittacanthus schiedeanus, Quercus bumelioides, 
Sigesbeckia jorullensis, and Vaccinium consanguineum. 
As was indicated above, the Cordillera Central ends abruptly in the tall peaks of 
Volcan Irazt and Volcan Turrialba, which, in terms of elevation and vegetation, closely 
approach the Cordillera de Talamanca, just to the south. A few small tracts of the phyto- 
geographically interesting paramo habitat exemplify this similarity to the Talamanca 
range. However, these have never been considered true paramo, even in recent studies 
(Gémez P., 1986; Cleef & Chaverri P., 1992; Luteyn, 1999); it is invariably assumed 
that true paramo is restricted, in Costa Rica, to the Cordillera de Talamanca. The para- 
mos of the Cordillera Central have been very much affected by relatively recent volcanic 
activity, and their flora has not been well documented, making difficult a comparison 
with the non-volcanic and much better studied Talamancan paramos. However, numer- 
ous differences are expected, if for no other reason than differing geological histories. A 
few species of typical paramo (in the sense of Luteyn, 1999) shared with the Cordillera 
de Talamanca and (in some cases) the South American Andes are Acaena elongata, 
Ageratina anisochroma, Agrostis tolucensis, Aira caryophyllea, Alchemilla procum- 
bens, Castilleja irasuensis, Cheilanthes lendigera, Coriaria ruscifolia, Dendrophthora 
Vegetation of Volcan Reventado, 2700 m (Oersted, A. 1863. 
L’Amérique centrale. F. S. Muhle.) 
