Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 183 
Parrita, Manuel Antonio National Park 
near Quepos, between Dominical and 
Uvita, and on Fila Retinto at Palmar Norte. 
Our studies of this once more or less con- 
tinuous area of high diversity demonstrate 
that even the sites that have been most al- 
tered (e.g., by logging, cattle farming, and 
the palm-oil industry) deserve protection 
and further study. Manuel Antonio Na- 
tional Park is a veritable island (of 683 ha), 
but with a relatively rich orchid flora of 39 
species (50% of which are considered 
rare) and 25 genera (Pupulin, 1998a, 
1998b), despite its three- to four-month 
dry season (Herrera & Gémez P., 1993). Manuel Antonio harbors a number of Costa 
Rican endemics (e.g., Buchenavia costaricensis, Licania operculipetala, Lophanthera 
hammelii, and Pseudima costaricense), as well as species known in Costa Rica only 
from there (such as Krugiodendron acuminatum and Mappia racemosa). Its forests are 
Fila Retinto (2002) 
often dominated by such trees as Copaifera aromatica, Cupania rufescens, Licania op- 
erculipetala, Pseudolmedia spuria, Simaba cedron, and Talisia nervosa (Vargas, 1992). 
Even so, populations of Simaba cedron in protected areas are very small. 
Between Uvita and the foothills of the Fila Costefia, numerous endemic species, 
such as Caryocar costaricense, Inga bella, Licania operculipetala, and Sterculia sp. 
nov., are relatively abundant. At the other end of this range, on the slopes of Fila Ret- 
into, we find other important endemic* or rare species, such as Barnebydendron ried- 
elii, Brachistus nelsonii, Caladium bicolor, Combretum graciliflorum, Crosso- 
petalum gomezii, Cryosophila grayumii*, Endlicheria formosa, Guarea grandifolia, G. 
pyriformis*, Hyospathe elegans, Licaria pergamentacea*, Maytenus grisea, Penta- 
plaris doroteae*, Peperomia saintpauliella*, Pseudima costaricense*, and Ziziphus 
chloroxylon. 
The area known on some maps as the Valle del Diquis is composed mainly of the 
Térraba-Sierpe wetland or mangrove, occupying the delta of the Rio Grande de Térraba 
and the Sierpe Lagoon, and dominated by such species as Acrostichum aureum, Am- 
phitecna latifolia, Annona glabra, Attalea rostrata, Avicennia germinans, Bactris 
major, Calathea crotalifera, C. lutea, Conocarpus erectus, Dalbergia brownei, Elaeis 
oleifera, Heliconia latispatha, Ixora nicaraguensis, Laguncularia racemosa, Luehea 
seemannii, Montrichardia arborescens, Mora oleifera, Muellera frutescens, Pelliciera 
rhizophorae, Phryganocydia phellosperma, Pterocarpus officinalis, Raphia taedigera, 
Rhabdadenia biflora, Rhizophora mangle, R. racemosa, Symphonia _globulifera, 
Tabebuia palustris, and Talipariti tiliaceum. Many of these are typical of mangrove sys- 
tems. The landscape of this valley was modified greatly by the banana industry during 
