Click
here to open feedback window. 147 Bombacopsis
quinata Bombacaceae
cedro espino, ceiba colorado, ceiba roja,
ceiba tolua, pochote, saquisaqui Distribution
Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela
Habitat A
species of rainforest and seasonally dry forest occurring on a variety of soil
types up to 900m. Population Status
and Trends A taxonomically controversial species,
which has a strong possibility of being sunk into Pachira.
Populations are fragmented within remaining areas of
seasonally dry lowland forest and the species is threatened at the provenance
level, most notably in the Choluteca Valley in Honduras,
eastern Nicaragua and northern Colombia (Calderon, 1997; Sandiford, 1997). The
main undisturbed stands are in Darien, Panama, and Llanos
Occidentales in Venezuela (FAO, 1986). It is also represented in protected
areas in northern Costa Rica (Arce Benavides, 1998). Ecology
Associated species include Cedrela
odorata, Anacardium
excelsum, Hura
crepitans, Ceiba
pentandra, Enterolobium
cyclocarpum and
Samanea saman. The
seeds are
dispersed by
explosive dehiscence
of the
capsule.
Fruits are
often damaged
by parrots. Role
of species in the Ecosystem Threats
Overexploitation, burning, increasing human settlement, extensive
agriculture Utilisation
The wood is used for general construction, interior finish,
millwork, furniture stock, veneer, plywood, pulp and paper products. Trade
Bombacopsis “ruinatum”
was reported
to be
in export
as a
sawnwood from
Colombia in
1995 (ITTO,
1997).
Between 1963
and 1965 it was the second most important species in Venezuela
in terms of volume produced (FAO, 1986). IUCN
Conservation category VU A1cd according to
Sandiford, M. (1997). Conservation
Measures Although occurring in national parks,
the habitat is relatively poorly represented in protected areas. Much
interest has been generated in replanting programmes and various institutes are
involved in research into wild populations and the conservation
of representative genetic samples of remaining populations in the form of, for
example, clonal seed orchards. Forest
Management and Silviculture Cultivation is straightforward.
Trees coppice readily and vegetative propagation is easy. The species is grown
in small scale species trials in Kenya and the Solomon
Islands (Sandiford, 1997). A reforestation programme in Costa Rica recorded a
relatively slow growth with a rotation of 25-30 years.
References Anon.
1981. Descripción general y anatomica de 105 maderas del grupo Andino. Junac:
Junta del Acuerdo de Cartagena. 441pp. Arce
Benavides, H. 1998. Comments on species profiles for Costa Rica. Asociación
Nacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza. 1990.
List of
threatened and
vulnerable plants
of Panama.
(unpublished). d'Arcy, W.G. 1987.
Flora of Panama: checklist and index. Monographs
in Systematic
Botany 17: 1-1000. Calderon,
E. (comp.). 1997. Lista de plantas Colombianas en peligro. July 1997 Version.
Instituto de Investigacino de Recursos Biologicas Alexander
von Humboldt. (unpublished). 14 pp. Erfurth, T. &
H. Rusche. 1976. The marketing
of tropical
wood. Rome: FAO. FAO
Forestry Department. 1986. Databook
on endangered
tree and
shrub species
and their
provenances. Rome: FAO. 524pp. ITTO,
1997. Annual review and assessment of the world tropical timber situation 1996.
International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).
Sandiford, M. 1997. Completed data collection form on Bombacopsis
quinata.