Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 221. 
According to our records, it would seem that many more new species (590) than 
new country records (361) of vascular plants have been found in recent times. In the 
Orchidaceae, e.g., the difference is phenomenal: we can account for only about seven 
new country records, whereas 208 new species have been described from Costa Rica 
since 1993. One may wonder whether this is a function of biology or of orchid taxon- 
omists. Nevertheless, in arborescent families, more difficult to collect, the same phe- 
nomenon is apparent: e.g., 33 new species of Lauraceae have been published recently, 
but only seven new records. It may well be that, in a tropical flora, more new species 
than new records are being discerned (especially in large groups with lots of endemism) 
because of a previous lack of exploration and because a sufficiently global knowledge 
is difficult or impossible. On the other hand, while it has been relatively easy to keep 
an accurate count of new species published, new country records usually are not pub- 
lished and, generally speaking, our specialists have not kept us informed. Thus, our 
count of recent new records is undoubtedly an underestimate. In the end, these incre- 
ments to the flora depend, logically, upon the presence and activity of specialists, the 
diversity of the particular family, and the intensity of past study. This last point can be 
illustrated by the family Piperaceae, which was intensively studied for Costa Rica early 
in the last century (cf., Trelease, 1929). William Burger (1988), after 15 years of work 
with the Costa Rican flora, commented on the paucity of new species (only two) of 
Piper found during the ensuing years. Likewise, in the 15 years that have elapsed since 
Burger’s observation, we have documented only four new species of Piper and four 
new country records. 
It is worth pointing out that, of the total of 361 new records for the country, about 
20 are shrubs and 119 are trees, the woody species together representing 38% of the 
new records. Similarly, of the total of 590 new species, ca. 53 are shrubs and 126 trees, 
representing ca. 30% of the total. One might assume that this significant percentage of 
arborescent species was due to a strong effort, over these years, to concentrate on this 
group of plants difficult to collect. However, the ca. 33% of the total 950 additions to 
the flora that are woody is practically the same fraction (35%) of trees and shrubs we 
have calculated for the total flora (see Fig. 2, in the chapter on Vegetation), so our ef- 
forts have apparently been more or less equal with respect to habit types. 
Among these 950 new species and country records brought to light during the 
course of the Manual project, several are notable enough to repeat here. One particu- 
lar tree species, Ticodendron incognitum, was first collected (sterile) in Costa Rica 
in the early 1900s by Carlos Wercklé (see History), and sporadically on through the 
middle of the 20th century (though apparently not by Standley). It was finally col- 
lected in fertile condition, and seen to be of real interest, by Costa Rican botanists at 
the Museo Nacional in the 1970s (see Hammel & Burger, 1991). Its “Tico” (diminu- 
tive for Costa Rican) elucidators first described it as a new genus and species of 
“Hamamelidean affinities” (G6mez-Laurito & Gomez P., 1989: 1151) and later as a 
new family of flowering plants, Ticodendraceae (G6mez-Laurito & Gémez P., 1991). 
