Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 233 
pepon wrightii, Halophila baillonis, Havardia campylacantha, Hydrolea elatior, Ipo- 
moea ternifolia, Jacquemontia agrestis, Krugiodendron ferreum, Machaerium robini- 
ifolium, Malpighia stevensii, Marsdenia gualanensis, Melochia tomentosa, Mimosa 
xanthocentra, Operculina triquetra, Opuntia lutea, Piper flavidum, P. retalhuleuense, 
Piscidia grandifolia, Plocosperma_ buxifo- 
lium, Rauvolfia viridis, Schizachyrium mala- 
costachyum, and Serjania lobulata. A few of 
the new species described recently from here 
are Coursetia elliptica, Jatropha costaricen- 
sis, Pitcairnia calcicola*, Pithecellobium 
bipinnatum*, Pterocarpus michelianus, Sim- 
sia santarosensis*, and Tradescantia petri- 
cola. Clearly, the major regional contribution 
to novelties has been country records, the 
majority previously known from dry forests 
to the north and a few relating to the Atlantic 
region of northern South America. 
The Nicoya Peninsula, generally speak- 
ing, is very poorly collected, with the excep- 
tion of a few localities such as Diria, Bejuco, 
and Cabo Blanco. This region needs to be 
systematically surveyed, because it is sure to 
have an interesting floristic composition due Opuntia lutea 
to its higher rainfall (relative to adjacent 
areas), its peninsularity, and its hilliness. A 
few of the new records from there include Acacia polyphylla, Chileranthemum pyra- 
midatum, Dichapetalum morenoi, Dicliptera vahliana, Dioscorea panamensis, and 
Tridax platyphylla. The only new species we know of described from here in recent 
years is Platymiscium curuense*. 
In the central Pacific zone, reduced to forest patches because of its proximity to the 
country’s largest urban centers and its drier (more seasonal) climate relative to the 
Caribbean side, several sites have been more or less intensively studied. The results 
show that the flora is rich, diverse, and transitional, and certainly deserves more study 
with the goal of greater protection and conservation. Among the sites most intensively 
studied in this region are Carara National Park (CNP), Cerro Turrubares (CT), and La 
Cangreja National Park (LCNP). These sites have yielded a great many new records for 
the flora, e.g.: Allosanthus trifoliolatus, Aspidosperma rigidum, Chrysophyllum lucen- 
tifollum, Clytostoma pterocalyx, Erythrochiton gymnanthus*, Heteropterys minuti- 
flora*, Inga jimenezii*, Itzaea sericea, Mascagnia mesoamericana, Pithecellobium jo- 
hansenii, Pittoniotis trichantha, Seguieria aculeata, Steriphoma paradoxum, and Vitex 
gaumeri (CNP); Geonoma monospatha*, Iresine nigra, Psychotria turrubarensis*, and 
