Cyathea arboreci 

 Cecropia pelfafa 

 Ocotea Icuco.ryJon 

 Ocotea mo'^chata 

 IllrteJJa nigosa 

 In (I a laiinna 

 Pit h.eceU6bium 



arborenm 

 Andira inermis 

 Ortnosia krugii 

 Dacryodes excelsa 

 CedreJa odorafa 

 Gvarea triclilVi olden 

 Byrsonhna corlacea 

 Drypetes glauca 



Oit,pania americana 

 Meliosma herbertii 

 Casearia arhorea 

 IJomnlhim racemosum 

 B urhcrurvia capitata 

 Myrcia defeoca 

 D end 1^0 pan ax arioreufi 

 Didymopanax 

 morototoni 

 Linociera doming en.s is 

 C'ordin nlliodora 

 Cordla horinquensis 

 Cordia sulcata 

 Vitex divaricata 

 Tahebuia heterophylla 



The forest of the lower slopes of the Luqiiillo 

 Mountains is similar in general appearance to that 

 in the Cordillera, hvit because of greater precipi- 

 tation and higher humidity it is somewhat more 

 luxuriant, and several tree species are much more 

 common here than elsewhere. The trees of the 

 lower Luquillo province include the following: 



Cyathea arhorea Alchorneopsis portori- 

 Cecropia peltata censis 



Beilschmiedia pendula Dry petes glauca 



Ocotea leucoxylon Sapium laurocerasus 



Ocotea moschata Cupania americana 



Hirtellarugosa Meliosma herbertii 



Inga laurina Sloanea berteriana 



Andira inermis Ochroma pyramidale 



Ormosia kr-ugii Casearia arhorea 



Dacryodes excelsa Buche?iavia capitata 



Tefragastris bahami- Myrcia deflexa 



fera Manilkara hidentata 



Guarea trichilioides Linociera domingensis 



Trichilia pallida Cordia- horinquensis 



Byrsonima coriacea Tabebuia heterophylJa 



The similar forest on the top of Sage Mountain, 

 Tortola, does not exceed 60 feet in height, ap- 

 parently because of a somewhat drier climate. It 

 contains many species associated with this forest 

 in Puerto Rico and is dominated almost exclu- 

 sively by bulletwood {Manilkara hidentata). 



Farther up the slopes in Puerto Rico, extending 

 to near the tops of the peaks, was a subtropical 

 rain forest. Here the temperature is lower, and 

 rainfall, ranging from 100 to possibly 200 inches 

 annually, is so abundant as to produce swampy 

 conditions and highly leached soils. The result 

 was a comparatively poor forest about 60 feet tall 

 and containing about 60 tree species. 



This upper mountain forest is distinct in the 

 Cordillera and the Luquillo Mountains primarily 

 because of more moist conditions in the latter. 

 The common or characteristic tree species of the 

 upper Cordillera forest include : 



Cyathea arborea Matayba. domingensis 



Euterpe glo-hosa Clusia hrmgiana 



Magnolia portoricensis Ccdycogonium -^ 



Guatteria hlainii sqimmulosum 

 Ocotea spathulata 



Bnmellia Heterotrichum 



comocladi folia cymosum. 



Alchornea lati folia Micropholis 



Turpinia paniculata chrysophylloides 



In the upper Luquillo Mountains the forest is 

 similar to that of the Cordillera, but there are in 

 addition a number of species found only on the 

 Luquillo Mountains. The common tree species of 

 the upper Luquillo Forest include the following : 



Cyathea arhorea Eugenia horinquensis 



Euterpe glohosa Calycogonium 



Magnolia, splendens squamulosum 



Oetotea spathulata Heterotrichum 



Alchornea lati folia, cymosum 



Croton poecilanthus Micropholis 



Cyrilla racemi-flora chrysophylloides 



Matayba domingeTisis Micropholis 



Clusia krugiana garciniae folia 



Calyptranthes krugii Tahebuia rigida 



One of the most prominent species in these 

 upper mountain forests is the sierra palm {Eu- 

 terpe glohosa) which forms extensive, nearly pure 

 stands on unstable soils. In the western part of 

 the Cordillera and near El Yunque peak in the 

 Luquillo Mountains grows Puerto Rico's only 

 arborescent gymnosperm, caobilla {Podocarpus 

 coriaceus) . 



On Puerto Rico's mountain peaks, above 2,500 

 feet elevation, the forest is dwarfed to 20 feet or 

 less in height. Little or no valuable timber is pres- 

 ent in this forest, but tree species of interest in- 

 clude Weinmannia pinnata and Brunellia como- 

 cladifolia. 



THE FORESTS OF TODAY 



Within the total area of Puerto Rico and the 

 Virgin Islands, approximately 2,335,000 acres, 

 there are now about 560,000 acres covei'ed by trees.' 

 Of this about 280,000 acres are covered by forests 

 or brush. Included here are an estimated 235,000 

 acres in Puerto Rico and 45,000 acres in the Virgin 

 Islands. Only about 8,000 acres, slightly more 

 than 1 percent of the forests, are still in virgin 

 condition. 



An estimated 198,000 acres, virtually all in 

 Puerto Rico, are covered by coffee shade. Of this 

 some 125,000 acres bear also coffee trees, the rest 

 being shaded by trees but abandoned as planta- 

 tions. Another 70,000 acres are woodland pas- 

 tures, where the trees are more widely spaced but 

 form a light shade. Of this area, 45,000 acres are 

 in Puerto Rico and 25,000 acres in the Virgin 

 Islands. Some 10,000 acres are in orchards, chiefly 

 coconut groves. 



' The estimated areas in this chapter are based upon 

 reports of the fuerto Rico Department of Agriculture and 

 Commerce, the Puerto Rico Planning Board, the United 

 States Census, and recent ofiicial reports on agriculture 

 in the United States Virgin Islands. Data on the British 

 Virgin Islands are rough approximations, based upon 

 personal observations in the area. 



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