Endemic Plant - Palo Colorado

Photo of the Palo Colorado tree, Ternstroemia luquillensis
Illustration: Elbert L. Little – Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Palo Colorado (Sp.), (no common English name), Ternstroemia luquillensis (Sci.), endemic plant species, Luquillo Mountains, northeastern Puerto Rico.

Information compiled by Alan Mowbray, USDA Forest Service,
El Yunque National Forest – 2009.

General Information:

Class-Magnoliopsida, Order-Theales, Family-Theaceae (Tea Family), Genus-Ternstroemia. Species-T. luquillensis. Known only from the Luquillo Mountains, it is the largest of the five species of this genus, four of which are endemic to Puerto Rico. It is an endangered species, presently threatened by  habitat loss.

Description:

Ternstroemia luquillensis is an evergreen tree that may reach 60 feet (18 meters) in height, with a trunk diameter of 3 ½ inches (8.8 centimeters) The leaves are alternate, thick and leathery and wide at the middle, but pointed at both ends. They can be as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) long – about three times as long as they are wide. Both leaf surfaces are green with the undersides punctuated by tiny black indentations. The flowers are gaudy, approximately 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) in diameter, with five concave, white or cream-colored petals. Fruits are oval shaped, with red seeds.

Distribution:

Ternstroemia luquillensis was originally described by Krug and Urban in 1896 on the basis of three collected specimens. It is known to occur in both the Palo Colorado and Dwarf-Elfin woodlands forest vegetation types of the Luquillo Mountains.  Only six (6) individual trees in four (4) separate locations are presently known to exist – three are found in the Palo Colorado forest type and one in the Dwarf-Elfin woodlands type (Pico del Este) – all occur within the boundaries of the El Yunque National Forest.

Threats:

This plant is listed as endangered under the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Endangered Species Program (2006) and the Puerto Rico Heritage Program (1995); Endangered and Threatened Plants of Puerto Rico (20 October 2002) and the Department of Natural & Environmental Resources (DNER), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The US Fish & Wildlife Service is currently considering the implementation of a propagation program aimed at re-introducing this endangered species to the Luquillo Mountains at some future date.