Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 227 
total of 167 species new to science, with an estimated 10% of the total known flora 
(3021 spp.) being endemic (Haber, 2000a). Numerous taxa of great phytogeographic 
and taxonomic interest have been identified or described from this mountain range, 
e.g.: Beilschmiedia immersinervis*, B. tilaranensis, Caryodendron angustifolium, Dal- 
bergia tilarana, Decazyx macrophyllus, Deherainia lageniformis*, Discocnide mexi- 
cana, Geonoma brenesii*, Gymnosporia haberiana, Lubaria aroensis, Malaxis monsvi- 
ridis*, Miconia amplinodis*, Ocotea gomezii*, O. morae*, Picrasma excelsa, Pimenta 
guatemalensis, Pleurothyrium guindonii*, P. palmanum, Povedadaphne quadriporata*, 
Rudgea monofructus*, Styphnolobium monteviridis*, and Ticodendron incognitum. 
The majority of these new species were found in the elevational range of 500—1500 m, 
on the Caribbean slope, and 1100—1500 m, on the Pacific slope. 
It is somewhat ironic that so few recent collections have come from the Cordillera 
Central, so close to the most populated areas of Costa Rica. The Caribbean side of the 
Cordillera Central has been studied more than the Pacific side, with only the northern 
slopes of Volcan Barva having received attention anywhere near that of the other cor- 
dilleras. Some recent additions to the Costa Rican flora that have come from the 
Cordillera Central are Arachniodes ochropteroides, Arthrostylidium judziewiczii, 
Baskervilla leptantha*, Brachionidium polypodium, Cayaponia longiloba, Crossoglossa 
aurantiilineata*, Cyathea mucilagina*, C. nodulifera, Dichaea schlechteri*, Dioscorea 
composita, Elaphoglossum montgomeryi, Jessea gunillae, Lepanthes cuspidata*, L. 
dolabriformis*, L. elegans*, Mollinedia macrophylla, Oreopanax echinops, Palicourea 
copensis, P. gomezii*, Parinari parvifolia, Peperomia ciliaris, P. simulans, Philoden- 
dron squamicaule, Pteris speciosa, Sarcopera rosulata, Scaphyglottis modesta, Se- 
laginella potaroensis, Senna cajamarcae, Stelis kareniae*, Strychnos brachistantha, 
Thelypteris barvae*, T. grayumii*, T. subscandens*, Topobea crassifolia, Trichomanes 
kalbreyeri, and Trichosalpinx todziae*. 
The exploration of the vast Talamanca range over the past 15 years has generated at 
least 67 species new to science. Even in a genus as well studied as Chusquea (Clark, 
1989), four new species were described during this period: C. costaricensis, C. subtilis, 
C. talamancensis, and C. tomentosa (Widmer & Clark, 1991; Clark & March, 2000). Of 
the 22 Costa Rican species in this genus, seven (32%) are endemic to the Talamanca 
range. These recent efforts have also added about 31 new country records, the majority 
previously known from (in order of importance) Panama, wide distributions, South 
America, and Guatemala. Not only is this region of interest for the usual phytogeo- 
graphic/taxonomic reasons, it is also an important germplasm bank for wild relatives of 
major economic species, such as beans and potatoes. This latter fact is attested to by the 
recent discovery (Freytag & Debouck, 1996) of a new species of bean (Phaseolus cos- 
taricensis) related to the common bean (P. vulgaris), and by recent work (Spooner et al., 
2001) on wild populations of Solanum spp. closely related to the potato (S. tuberosum). 
The various incursions into Fila Matama and other areas (mostly below 2000 m) on 
the Caribbean slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca have demonstrated that this is a rich 
