Top Ten Lists
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Students new to tropical biology will not know which families, genera, or species of plants they will be most likely to encounter in the forest. These lists are intended to help shed light on these mysteries. The lists are taken from Hartshorn & Hammel (1994) “Vegetation Types and Floristic Patterns” in McDade et al eds La Selva: Ecology and Natural History of a Neotropical Rain Forest. The data were generated largely from long-term monitoring by Gary Hartshorn and colleagues of permanent plots located in several locations at the La Selva forest.
Top Ten Lists are provided for Flowering Plant Families, Genera, Trees, and Forest Trees.
Top Ten Families
Flowering plant families containing the most species.
| Family | Species |
|---|---|
| Orchidaceae | 114 |
| Araceae | 99 |
| Rubiaceae | 99 |
| Fabaceae | 80 |
| Melastomataceae | 77 |
| Piperaceae | 64 |
| Poaceae | 63 |
| Asteraceae | 48 |
| Euphorbiaceae | 42 |
| Moraceae | 31 |
Top Ten Genera
Flowering plant genera containing the most species
| Genus | Species |
|---|---|
| Piper (Piperaceae) | 44 |
| Psychotria (Rubiaceae) | 39 |
| Philodendron (Araceae) | 33 |
| Anthurium (Araceae) | 25 |
| Miconia (Melastomataceae) | 25 |
| Inga (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) | 19 |
| Ficus (Moraceae) | 17 |
| Peperomia (Piperaceae) | 17 |
| Calathea (Marantaceae) | 16 |
| Epidendrum (Orchidaceae) | 15 |
Top Ten Tree Families
Families containing the most number of tree species.
| Family | Species |
|---|---|
| Fabaceae | 41 |
| Lauraceae | 24 |
| Rubiaceae | 22 |
| Euphorbiaceae | 18 |
| Annonaceae | 16 |
| Melastomataceae | 15 |
| Arecaceae | 13 |
| Moraceae | 13 |
| Meliaceae | 10 |
| Sapotaceae | 9 |
Primary Forest Trees
The three major primary forest landscapes at La Selva are rolling terrain (on residual soils formed by erosion of volcanic rock), old terrace (on alluvial soils deposited long ago on the floodplains of the major rivers), and swamp.
| Primary Forest on Rolling Terrain | Primary Forest on Old Terrace | Primary Swamp Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Pentaclethra macroloba | Pentaclethra macroloba | Pentaclethra macroloba |
| Socratea exorrhiza | Welfia georgii | Carapa nicaraguensis |
| Welfia georgii | Socratea exorrhiza | Irartea deltoidea |
| Irartea deltoidea | Protium panamense | Pterocarpus officinalis |
| Protium pitteri | Warscewiczia coccinea | Welfia georgii |
| Warscewiczia coccinea | Laetia procera | Astrocaryum alatum |
| Euterpe macrospadix | Goethalsia meiantha | Goethalsia meiantha |
| Protium glabrum | Dendropanax arboreus | Apieba membranacea |
| Pourouma aspera | Dipteryx panamensis | Colubrina spinosa
Rhamnaceae |
| Virola sebifera | Casearia arborea | Protium panamense |
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