(DRAFT) - Taxonomy
Species PALO DE NIGUA
Species Id ESIS704056
Date 13 MAR 96
TAXONOMY
NAME - PALO DE NIGUA
OTHER COMMON NAMES - PALO DE NIGUA; NIGUA; CAPA DE JIGUERILLO
ELEMENT CODE -
CATEGORY - Angiosperm
PHYLUM AND SUBPHYLUM - MAGNOLIOPHYTA,
CLASS AND SUBCLASS - MAGNOLIOPSIDA,
ORDER AND SUBORDER - LAMIALES,
FAMILY AND SUBFAMILY - VERBENACEAE,
GENUS AND SUBGENUS - CORNUTIA,
SPECIES AND SSP - OBOVATA,
SCIENTIFIC NAME - CORNUTIA OBOVATA
AUTHORITY -
TAXONOMY REFERENCES -
COMMENTS ON TAXONOMY -
Palo de Nigua
Cornutia obovata Urban
KINGDOM: Plant GROUP: Angiosperm
DIVISION: Magnoliophyta CLASS: Magnoliopsida
ORDER: Lamiales FAMILY: Verbenaceae
Cornutia obovata (palo de nigua) is an evergreen tree which
may reach 10 to 15 m in height. Twigs are 4-sides, finely hairy and
brownish when young. Leaves are opposite, simple, 5 to 14 cm long,
4 to 8 cm wide, leathery, and widest above the middle. The apex is
rounded or blunt-pointed and the base pointed. Upper surfaces are
green and the lower surface is pale green, velvety with brownish
hairs, with minute, golden, shiny gland-dots. Three or four
prominent, ascending, curved veins are present on either side of the
mid-vein. Petioles are 1 to 2 cm in length and brownish-hairy. The
flower cluster is a terminal panicle, 8 to 30 cm in length. Flowers
are perfect and zygomorphic. The corolla is bluish or purplish,
finely hairy outside with long hairs inside. Fruits are a purplish
drupe with 3 to 4 seeds (03,05).
Palo de nigua was collected for the first time by Sintenis
in 1885 while he was collecting specimens for Urban and Krug. In
Taxonomy - 1 (DRAFT) - Taxonomy
Species PALO DE NIGUA
Species Id ESIS704056
Date 13 MAR 96
1938 it was again collected from Rio Abajo and from San Sebastian.
It has been reported from Guajataca but this may be the same site as
that reported as San Sebastian. In the 1960's Woodbury collected the
species at Susua Commonwealth Forest. It has always been observed as
only single trees. The holotype was housed at the Krug and Urban
Herbarium in Berlin, but was destroyed during the war. Vivaldi (05),
during his status report, selected at a lectotype the isotype housed
at the U.S. National Herbarium.
Taxonomy - 2 (DRAFT) - Status
Species PALO DE NIGUA
Species Id ESIS704056
Date 13 MAR 96
STATUS
Coded Status
Puerto Rico; Federal Endangered
E: Federal Endangered
COMMENTS ON STATUS -
U.S. STATUSES AND LAWS:
The palo de nigua (Cornutia obovata) has been designated an
Endangered species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act
of 1973 (50 CFR 17.12; P.L. 93-205, 87 Stat. 884; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1540),
as amended. The species has this status wherever found including the
State of Puerto Rico.
RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL AGENCIES:
USFWS -Responsible for the management/recovery, listing, and
law enforcement/protection of this species.
All Federal agencies have responsibility to ensure that any
action authorized, funded, or carried out by that agency is not likely
to jeopardize the continued existence of the species or result in the
destruction or adverse modification of Critical Habitat (50 CFR 402),
and to utilize their authorities to carry out programs for the
conservation of the species.
STATE STATUSES AND LAWS:
STATE: Puerto Rico
UNOFFICIAL LIST: Natural Heritage Program List of Critical
Plants in Puerto Rico.
INTERNATIONAL STATUSES, TREATIES, AND AGREEMENTS:
None
ECONOMIC STATUSES:
Cornutia obovata presently has no known commerical value.
87/04/24:52 FR 13792/13794 - Proposed Rule
88/04/07: FR - Final Rule; listed as endangered
Status - 1 HABITAT ASSOCIATIONS
HABITAT - TERRESTRIAL
TERRESTRIAL
LAND USE -
Deciduous Forest Land
Evergreen Forest Land
COMMENTS ON HABITAT ASSOCIATIONS -
The following description of habitat is from the status
report on Cornutia obovata (05).
Cornutia obovata is found on areas underlain by limestone
and volcanic rocks. The Rio Abajo and Arecibo observatory sites are
underlain by limestone of Tertiary origin. The Monte Torrecilla area
is of volcanic origin, and igneous rocks, primarily andesitic,
cover the area. The sites range in elevation from 300 m in Rio Abajo
and 940 m on Monte Torrecilla. The Rio Abajo and Arecibo sites are
characterized by karst topography, the Torrecilla, by hills with
rounded tops (04,05).
Soils in the Rio Abajo and Arecibo sites are shallow,
well-drained, alkaline and interspersed between outcrops of hard
limestone. These limestone outcrops may cover up to 75 percent of
the surface. At Torrecilla, the soils are moderately-deep to deep,
moderately acid clays. Run-off is rapid and erosion is a problem
(05).
Mean annual precipitation within the rainge of Cornutia
varies. At the northern karst site the mean annual rainfall is 192
cm. A rainy season occurs from May to September and a dry season
from December through March. Mean annual temperature is 21.7 deg. C
at Barranquitas, near Monte Torrecilla (05).
The range of Cornutia obovata falls within the subtropical
moist forest life zone of Ewel and Whitmore (02). Beard (01)
classified the vegetation of the Rio Abajo and Arecibo sites as
seasonal formations (ranging from seasonal evergreen to seasonal
deciduous) and that of the Monte Torrecilla area as lower montane
forest.
Habitat Associations - 1 (DRAFT) - Food Habits
Species PALO DE NIGUA
Species Id ESIS704056
Date 13 MAR 96
FOOD HABITS
TROPHIC LEVEL -
AUTOTROPH
Food Habits - 1 (DRAFT) - Environment Associations
Species PALO DE NIGUA
Species Id ESIS704056
Date 13 MAR 96
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
G = General A = Adult
LIM = Limiting RA = Resting Adult
J = Juvenile FA = Feeding Adult
RJ = Resting Juvenile BA = Breeding Adult
FJ = Feeding Juvenile P = Pupae
L = Larvae E = Egg
RL = Resting Larvae
FL = Feeding Larvae
LIFESTAGE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
G Coastal Features: Vegetated offshore islands
G
G
Environment Associations - 1 (DRAFT) - Life History
Species PALO DE NIGUA
Species Id ESIS704056
Date 13 MAR 96
LIFE HISTORY
HABIT:
Tree (03,05)
LIFE CYCLE:
Perennial (03,05)
TYPE OF REPRODUCTION:
Sexual (03,05)
REPRODUCTIVE PHENOLOGY:
Germination, leafing, budding, fruiting, seed/fruit dates
all unknown (05). Anthesis dates are June or July (05).
Abundant flowering has been observed in June and July but
seedlings have not been found (04,05).
SEX OR SPORE STATUS:
Monoclinous (03,05)
POLLINATION, SPORE AND SEED DISSEMINATION:
Pollen dissemination and seed dissemination agents are
unknown.
SEED BIOLOGY:
No information is available concerning the seed biology of
this species.
POPULATION BIOLOGY:
Only widely scattered mature individuals are known to occur.
No seedlings have been observed.
ECOLOGICAL/EDAPHIC FACTORS:
Soils in the Rio Abajo and Arecibo sites are shallow,
well-drained, alkaline, and interspersed between outcrops of hard
limestone. These limstone outcrops may cover up to 75 percent of the
surface. At Torrecilla the soils are moderately-deep to deep,
moderately acid clays. Run-off is rapid and erosion is a problem
(05).
TROPHIC STATUS:
Phototrophic
CHARACTERISTIC DOMINANCE:
Component (04,05)
COMMUNITY ECOLOGY:
On Monte Torrecilla the palo de nigua is found in a remnant of
the lower montane forest and is associated with Prestoea montana
(sierra palm), and trees and shrubs such as Ocotea wrightii (canelon),
Guettarda ovalifolia (cucubano), Dendropanax laurifolius,
Psychotria berteroana (cachimbo comun), P. maleolens, Miconia
sintenisii (camasey), and Daphnopsis phillippiana (emajagua de
Life History - 1 (DRAFT) - Life History
Species PALO DE NIGUA
Species Id ESIS704056
Date 13 MAR 96
sierra) (05).
In Rio Abajo and the Arecibo site the vegetation may be
described as seasonal evergreen in ravines and seasonal
semi-evergreen or deciduous on the upper slopes of the hills.
Associated species here include Guarea trichilioides (guaraguao),
Cecropia peltata (yagrumo hembra), Clusia rosea (cupey),
Erythrina poeppigiana (bucayo), and Hibiscus elatus (mahoe) (04,05).
SPECIES INTERRELATIONSHIPS:
None
OTHER LIFE HISTORY DESCRIPTORS:
None
Life History - 2 (DRAFT) - Management Practices
Species PALO DE NIGUA
Species Id ESIS704056
Date 13 MAR 96
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
RESULT MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
Beneficial Restricting/regulating human disturbance of populations
Beneficial Maintaining undisturbed/undeveloped areas
Beneficial Land Acquisition
Beneficial Restricting Timber Harvest
Beneficial Maintaining Sperm/Seed Banks
Beneficial Stocking captive-reared wild-strain animals
Beneficial Transplanting wild animals
Beneficial Transplanting Wild Eggs/Wild Seeds
Adverse Recreational development
Existing Recreational development
Adverse Transmission Lines/Towers
Existing Transmission Lines/Towers
Adverse Inherent Reproductive Characteristics
Existing Inherent Reproductive Characteristics
Adverse Low Gene Pool
Existing Low Gene Pool
Adverse Erosion
Existing Erosion
Adverse Forest Alteration
Existing Forest Alteration
Adverse Harvesting
Existing Harvesting
COMMENTS ON MANAGEMENT PRACTICES -
The principal threats to this species are its extreme rarity,
timber harvesting, erosion, and development. In Rio Abajo, timber
harvesting is actively occurring and cutting in secondary forest
could directly affect the species and its habitat. Any expansion of
the communication facilities at Monte Torrecilla would result in the
elimination of the only individual present at this site. Because the
species is extremely rare and occurs only as single individuals, the
destruction of one may have severe consequences on an already
depleted gene pool (04,05).
UNAPPROVED PLAN:
No recovery plan is available for this species. It is
anticipated that this will be prepared during 1989.
No recovery plan is presently available for Cornutia obovata.
Some recommendations for recovery tasks include the following:
- Controlling/restricting timber harvesting.
- Land acquisition (purchases, easements, leases, agreements).
- Controlling/restricting development.
- Limiting human access.
- Transplanting wild seeds.
- Transplanting wild individuals.
- Propagation for reintroduction.
Management Practices - 1 (DRAFT) - Management Practices
Species PALO DE NIGUA
Species Id ESIS704056
Date 13 MAR 96
- Maintaining seed bank.
Management Practices - 2 (DRAFT) - References
Species PALO DE NIGUA
Species Id ESIS704056
Date 13 MAR 96
References
***** REFERENCES FOR ALL NARRATIVES EXCEPT N-OCCURRENCE *****
01 Beard, J.S. 1985. Classification of tropical vegetation types.
Ecology 36:89-100.
02 Ewel, J.J. and J.L. Whitmore. 1973. The ecological life zones
of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. U.S.D.A. Forest Service
Research Paper No. ITF-18. 72pp.
03 Little, E., R.O. Woodbury, and F.H. Wadsworth. 1974. Trees of
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Vol. II. U.S.D.A. Forest
Service Handbook 449.
04 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Caribbean Field Office. 1986.
Status review on Cornutia obovata.
05 Vivaldi, J.L. and R.O. Woodbury. 1981. Status report on Cornutia
obovata Urban. Unpublished status report submitted to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. 35 pp.
***** REFERENCES FOR N-OCCURRENCE NARRATIVE ONLY *****
01 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Caribbean Field Office. 1986.
Status review of Cornutia obovata Urban.
02 Vivaldi, J.L. and R.O. Woodbury. 1981. Status report on
Cornutia obovata Urban. Unpublished report submitted to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 35 pp.
References - 1