Cycads in Belize

[TerdalFarm]

Here is my Picasa slide show on cycads in Belize:

http://picasaweb.google.com/terdalfarm/ ... directlink

The first snapshots are of cycads at the Belize Botanic Gardens ( http://www.belizebotanic.org/).

I took notes, but somehow not well enough to match up my snapshots to my notes reliably. So, here is the list of cycads on display at the BBG, per the signage:
Zamia meermanii, Z. vazquezii, Z. furfuracea, Z. integrifolia, Z. picta, Z. prasina; Ceratazamia robusta; Dioon spinulosum.

Up in the "Mountain Pine Ridge" area of Belize, I stopped my vehicle and took a few snapshots of what looked to be wild Zamia. Those are the last few shots in the series.

--Erik

[Knnn]

Thanks Erik, Enjoyed looking through them
The habitat photos are interesting too, I'm guessing Zamia prasina. Maybe Jody will see this and help with the Id's


Steve

[TerdalFarm]

Ask Jody. Species confirmation (if possible) would be cool.
The only publication I have handy lists just one species for this area: Zamia furfuracea (Means, 1997).
I really know next to nothing about cycads. The only reason I got the photos of cycads in the wild was because I told a friend who lives there that I had promised you Zamia photos. We were driving along and he said, "Zamia! Right there!" I stopped the truck, got out and took those snapshots in the light rain.
--Erik
-------------------
Means, D. Bruce. Natural History of Mountain Pine Ridge, Belize, with special emphasis on the property of Bull Run Overseas, Ltd. Unpublished report to Bull Run Overseas, ltd. January, 1997.

[virtualpalm]

Erik & Steve,

The plant in habitat is what used to be widely known as Zamia polymorpha -- but which was recenty revised to Z. prasina (good call, Steve!). You can read more about it in the paper published by Calonje and Meerman last year: http://www.cycad.org/documents/43-49_Ca ... _1__06.pdf.

Jody

[TerdalFarm]

Jody,
thanks!
That link did not work for me. I think this is the same article:
http://www.cycad.org/documents/43-49_Ca ... _1__06.pdf
--Erik

[lucky1]

Again, Erik, great photos of great cycads.
Seeing the cycads coning in habitat is wonderful...and those larvae were mysterious looking!
Maybe they dine on the weevil that has pollinated the cone!

The habitat photos were surprising in that I expected to see palms, at least here and there.
Pines are surprising, because where I live they grow chiefly in hot dry deserty areas, seldom where there's a microclimate that includes humidity.
The area must have had considerable grazing too, as that pine's lower limbs are gone/broken.

Very much enjoyed your travelogue and visit to the BBG.
Thank you.

Barb

[TerdalFarm]

I'll share some more habitat photos as they relate to landscape ideas.
We tend to think of "palms" as growing in "tropical" forests. Central America mixes that up.
The whole isthmus is in the midst of a mixture of "neotropicals" moving up from South America and the sort of plants we are used to which were already there. (Geologically, Central America is North american; the connection is new at under 3 million years.)
What I see is that at low elevations the flora is "neotropical" and the higher up you go the more "north american" it looks. So, up in the "Maya Mountains" (not really that high; where I was was about 2,000' above sea level) much of the vegetation had North American ties.
The "canopy" trees were pines. Oaks made up the mid-levels. A plant related to St. John's wort was an important shrub. Palms were in the shrub/sub-canopy level. Bunch grasses were common at the lowest level, as were ferns.
So, as gardeners, I think we should consider mixing palms with pines, oaks and grasses in our landscapes.

[TerdalFarm]

Barb,
The habitat shots were not in an area where cattle have been grazed recently, but they were there in the past (up to a decade or so ago). This particular area is now used for pine logging for local construction use.
--Erik

[lucky1]

Your description again was excellent.
Gave a really good feel for the topography of Belize.

Oaks too???? I would've thought the upland landscapes might have had yuccas or agaves mixed with pines.
But Oak surpises me, and along with adjacent pines, therefore more acidic soil too.
While Oak is native to eastern Canada, British Columbia has virtually none...except those brought in.

we should consider mixing palms with pines, oaks and grasses in our landscapes

Great combination! Great look.

When grazing ended, Zamias had a chance to populate the area.

Thanks Erik!
Barb

[TerdalFarm]

I'll look up the specific oak species tomorrow.
I'm thinking about live oak/water oak/willow oak to mix with palms for a "central american" montane landscape theme.
I have read that the highest mountain tops in Belize have trees related to sweet gums as a relict of the ice ages, which pushed cold-adapted plants southwards, much as we have a sugar maple relict grove here in Tulsa. What a garden mix that would make!
Anyways, I need to check on my six (6!) goats born since I got home last week and then go to bed. My palms are all loving the warm weather we are having. I promised my wife I'd bring warm weather home from Belize as my present to her and I did not let her down.
--Erik

[Knnn]

Jody, Thanks for the ID!

Erik, A photo of a healthy specimen in habitat always gives a wealth of knowledge, thanks again for your observations & photos. Interesting to see how diverse things are.



Steve

[TerdalFarm]

I'll be back in March and will try for more photos.
I may also look up Jan Meerman, who I think lives in the area. Maybe I can meet him and pick his brain.