Bombacopsis quinata

cedro espino, ceiba colorado, ceiba roja, ceiba tolua, pochote, saquisaqui

Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Pannezuela

Habitat

A species of rainforest and seasonally dry forest occurring on a variety of soil types o 900m.

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 Ben 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 damagarrots.

Overexploitation, burning, increasing human settlement, culture

Utilisation

The wood is used for general construction, interior finish, millwork, furniture stock, veneer, plywood, pulpducts.

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 1986).

VU A1cd according to (1997).

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 hards.

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 rot years.

References

Anon. 1981. Descripción general y anatomica de 105 maderas del grupo Andino. Junac: Junta del Acuerdo 441pp.

Arce Benavides, H. 1998. Comments on species proa Rica.

Asociación Nacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza. 1990. List of threatened and vulnerable plants of Pished).

d'Arcy, W.G. 1987. Flora of Panama: checklist and index. Monographs in Systematic B1-1000.

Calderon, E. (comp.). 1997. Lista de plantas Colombianas en peligro. July 1997 Version. Instituto de Investigacino de Recursos Biologicas Alexander von Humboldt. 14 pp.

Erfurth, T. & H. Rusche. 1976. The marketing of trope: FAO.

FAO Forestry Department. 1986. Databook on endangered tree and shrub species and their provenanc 524pp.

ITTO, 1997. Annual review and assessment of the world tropical timber situation 1996. International Tropical Timber (ITTO).

Sandiford, M. 1997. Completed data collection form on Bomta.