Trees of Cloudbridge
Quercus copeyensis (Roble, oak)
Description: A slow-growing very tall, canopy-level tree with a straight trunk and a high, rounded cluster of dark green foliage.
Natural history:
Distribution: Lower montane and montane rainforests of the Talamancas and down to northern Panama, from 1800 to 3000 meters..
How
to recognize: The grey bark ("white oak") with flat scales distinguishes this tree from Quercus costaricensis, a "black oak" with similar foliage.
Uses: The
hard, rot resistant wood has been used for dock construction. In the
past, many of these trees were cut down by villagers to burn for
charcoal.
Sources and Links:
Universidad de Costa Rica (drawing at right)
INBio description
Hunt Institute, Carnegie-Mellon University
Photo: Francisco Garín
Scientific Information:
| Division: |
Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants)
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| Class: |
Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
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| Family: |
Fagaceae (Beech and oak family)
|
| Species: |
Quercus copeyensis
(Liebm.) Planch (alt. name
Chaetoptelea mexicana) [example] |
Photo
Identification Guide: Quercus copeyensis
(Roble, oak)
Leaves.
Leaves are alternate, simple and often clustered at the end of
branches. Leaf size and shape is quite variable: 4-15 cm long, 2-6.5 cm
wide. Generally wider towards the tip. Tips can be blunt to rounded,
narrowing to a pointy shape at the base.
L. A. Fournier, Universidad de Costa Rica (drawing at right)
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|
| Flowers.
4-10 small, inconspicous flowers appear at the end of spikes in
February and September. Male spikes are catkins 3-12 cm long, while
female spikes are 2-6 cm long. |
|
Fruit and Seeds.
Fruiting spikes are 2-8 cm long and 20 mm broad at the apex. The seeds
are acorns, with a cup that encloses 50-65% of the mature acorn.
|
|
Saplings. At right is one of the saplings planted at Cloudbridge.
Photo: Ian & Genevieve Giddy
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Cloudbridge: Bridging
a Costa Rican cloud forest