Abies guatemalensis
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 Abies guatemalensis in the San Miguel Los Altos Reserve, Totonicapán, Guatemala
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| Abies guatemalensis Rehder |
Abies guatemalensis or the Guatemalan Fir is an evergreen tree native to Central America and is the southernmost member of the genus Abies. It ranges from southern Mexico in the north to Honduras and El Salvador on cerro el pital in the south. Due to logging and loss of habitat, the tree is considered threatened and is protected in CITES Appendix I.
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[edit] Description
A. guatemalensis is a conical tree growing 20 to 35 meters tall and 60 to 90 cm in girth. The branches grow largely horizontally. The bark is a blackish-brown and is divided into plates. The branchlets are reddish-brown to deep blackish-red and pubescent. The buds are globular-ovoid, resinous, and roughly 5 mm in length. The leaves are somewhat comb-like or nearly pectinate in arrangement. They are unequal and deepgreen above, while glaucous beneath. They measure 1.5 to 5.5 cm long by 1.2 to 2 mm wide. Stomata are usually absent above, but appear in 8 to 10 lines below. They are contain two marginal resin canals and the apex of the leaf is notched and emarginate. The female cones are oblong-cylindric and the apex is pointed to somewhat flattened. They are yellowish-brown in colour with a violet bloom and measure 8 to 11.5 cm long by 4 4.5 cm wide. The scales are oblong, or broader than long. The bracts are hidden, about one half the height of the scale and are cuneate-obovoid in shape. The seeds are a light brown nut to 9 mm in length with a wing to 1.5 cm long" [1]
[edit] Taxonomy
There are two recognised varieties of A. gutamalensis, namely:
- A. g. var. guatamalensis, which is the type variety and is present over the majority of the range. It is present in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Tamaulipas.[2]
- A. g. var. jaliscana is present only in the northern part of the distribution, namely in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit and possibly Sinaloa.[3]
[edit] Ecology
A. guatemalensis is listed as threatened by the IUCN due to timber exploitation and loss of habitat. It characteristically grows in deep fertile soils, which are desirable for agriculture by local inhabitants. It was reported as being a common tree up until the 1940s. Large populations may still remain in Honduras, but data is currently deficient. Some evidence suggests that the remaining stands in Guatemala are no larger than 3 hectares. Furthermore the cone crops are irregular and germination is typically poor.[4] Among the remaining populations, the forest of Los Altos de San Miguel Totonicapán in Guatemala is said to harbor the largest and best-conserved stands, though these are also threatened by illegal logging.[3] As a result of its status it has become illegal to harvest in some countries where it is native and it is listed in CITES Appendix I, making its international trade illegal. The Central American And Mexico Coniferous Resources Cooperative (CAMCORE) has also begun programmes to protect the tree in the wild.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Silba, John (1986). "Encyclopedia coniferae". Phytologia Memoirs 8. Corvallis, Oregon: Moldenke and Moldenke.
- ^ Farjon, Aljos (1998). World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers. Richmond, U.K.: Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew.
- ^ a b Earle, Christopher J. (2006). Abies Guatemalensis. The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
- ^ a b Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Abies guatemalensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. United States Department of Forestry. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
