Flora of Central America

Chrysophyllum cainito is a tropical tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is native to the Isthmus of Panama, where it was domesticated. It has spread to the Greater Antilles and the West Indies and is now grown throughout the tropics, including Southeast Asia. It grows rapidly and reaches 20 meters in height.

Anthurium scherzerianum, the flamingo flower or pigtail plant, is a species of Anthurium (family Araceae) native to Costa Rica. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit as an ornamental houseplant, kept at 15 °C (60 °F) or higher. It is naturally an epiphyte, growing on trees in the rainforest. Anthurium scherzerianum typically reaches 30–45 cm (12–18 in) tall. Its most striking feature is its orange-red curly spadix. It produces shiny, lance-shaped leaves about 20 cm (8 in) long. Common pests include mealybugs, aphids, and soft scale. When growing indoors, it

Parmentiera cereifera, the candle tree, is a species of tree in the family Bignoniaceae. It is endemic to Panama, but it is also a commonly cultivated specimen in botanical gardens. This tree grows up to 6 m tall. The leaves are arranged oppositely, each made up of three leaflets. They are borne on winged petioles up to 5 cm long. The flower is solitary or borne in a cluster of up to four. The five-lobed corolla is greenish white. The fruit is a taper-shaped berry up to 60 cm long. The record is 120 cm long while only 2.5 cm wide. It is green, ripening yellow, and waxy in texture. The fleshy

Haptanthus is a monotypic genus containing the sole species Haptanthus hazlettii, a shrub or small tree known only from the locality of Matarras in the Arizona Municipality in Honduras. Its flowers are unique among the flowering plants. A single "female" (carpellate) flower has two branches on either side which carry "male" (staminate) flowers. The flowers are very simple, lacking obvious sepals or petals. The family placement of the genus has been uncertain but based on molecular phylogenetic research, it is included in the family Buxaceae as of September 2014. Very few individuals have ever

Dioon mejiae is a species of cycad that is native to Honduras. It is found in the departments of Colón, Olancho, and Yoro. Common names include palma teosinte, teocinte, teocinta (female), teocintle, teocsinte, teosinte, tiusinte, and tusinte, all of which mean "sacred ear."

Magnolia guatemalensis is a tree found in the highlands and mountains of Guatemala, Chiapas, El Salvador, and Honduras. It is considered an indicator species of the cloud forest. It is known locally as mamey, a common name that is also used for the unrelated species Pouteria sapota from Cuba and the fruit tree Mammea americana from Central and South America.

Zea nicaraguensis is an annual, true grass species in the genus Zea. It is considered to be phenotypically the most distinctive, as well as the most threatened teosinte. This teosinte thrives in flooded conditions along 200 m of a coastal estuarine river in northwest Nicaragua at the Reserva Natural de Apacunca. Virtually all populations of teosinte are either threatened or endangered with Z. nicaraguensis being the most endangered, it survives as about 6000 plants in an area of 200 x 150 m. The Mexican and Nicaraguan governments have taken action in recent years to protect wild teosinte

Salvia dorisiana, the fruit-scented sage or peach sage, is a perennial shrub native to Honduras. It grows 1–1.3 m tall, and is heavily branched. The leaves have a fruity scent when brushed, and large magenta-pink flowers that bloom in winter. Salvia dorisiana was first described in 1950, and has become popular as a greenhouse plant. The flowers reach up to 5 cm in length, with a lime-green calyx about the same length. The entire plant is covered in hairs whose glands release a pineapple-grapefruit scent. Salvia dorisiana was named for Doris Zemurray Stone, 1909–1994, archaeologist and

Cryosophila williamsii, also known as Lago Yojoa palm or root-spine palm is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Honduras. It is threatened by habitat loss. Cryosophila williamsii is named in honor of prominent botanist Louis Otho Williams. The IUCN classified this plant as Critically Endangered, and it is assumed there are 200-270 mature individuals in the wild. Threats to this species include climate change and selective harvesting for ornamental purposes. The species' habitat has been largely converted to agriculture.

Costus stenophyllus, the bamboo costus, is a species of plant endemic to Costa Rica. In southern Costa Rica, it grows in forests, most typically on ridges and steep slopes. It is also grown as an ornamental outside of its native range. Costus stenophyllus is not easily confused with other Central American species of Costus, in part due to its narrow leaves.

Zamia pseudoparasitica is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to Panama.

Zamia acuminata is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae which is threatened by habitat loss. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The holotype of Zamia acuminata is a leaf collected by Anders Sandøe Ørsted in Costa Rica or Nicaragua between 1846 and 1848. It was described by William Turner Thiselton-Dyer in 1884. While the label with the specimen has the note ad flumen S. Juan Nicaragua on it, suggesting that the leaf was collected near the San Juan River in southern Nicaragua, no other specimens of the plant have been found in Nicaragua or adjacent parts of Costa Rica. In 1993, Dennis

Inga skutchii is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Costa Rica.

Inga litoralis is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Costa Rica.

Inga herrerae is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Costa Rica.

Dracula ripleyana is a species of orchid. It can be found in Costa Rica.

Zamia skinneri is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to the coastal area of mainland Bocas del Toro Province, Panama. Its common name is cebolla roja. This has long been considered to be a variable plant that was likely a species complex, with individuals actually belonging to several undescribed species. In 2008 some populations were studied, characterized as new species, and renamed Zamia hamannii, Zamia imperialis, and Zamia nesophila. This recategorization reduced the size of the population of actual Z. skinneri to fewer than 500.

Zamia dressleri is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to Eastern Panama, where it grows in rainforest habitat.

Tillandsia kammii is a species in the genus Tillandsia that is native to Honduras, but has also been collected in El Salvador. It was first discovered in Honduras in 1977 in the regions of Olancho, Lempira and Copan. Its common name is Kamm's tillandsia.

Tillandsia harrisii is a species of flowering plant in the genus Tillandsia. The species is endemic to Guatemala.

Quercus tonduzii is a species of oak. It is endemic to Costa Rica. It is placed in section Lobatae.

Pohlidium is a genus of Panamanian plants in the family Poaceae. The only known species is Pohlidium petiolatum, native to Coclé Province in central Panama.

Piper cenocladum is a species of shrub in the genus Piper (pepper plants). This plant and a few other closely related species are known as ant plants or ant pipers. P. cenocladum has broad, bright green leaves and grows in dim, swampy areas deep in the rainforest of Costa Rica and surrounding countries. It occurs in the rainforest understory. The species is a myrmecophyte, a plant that lives in ecological mutualism with ants. It has hollow petioles which provide a home for ants, especially of the species Pheidole bicornis. The ants also use the plant as their main food source and defend it

Inga tenuiloba is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Costa Rica. It grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Inga canonegrensis is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Costa Rica.

Inga bracteifera is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Costa Rica.

Erythrina atitlanensis is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. It is found in Mexico and Central America.

Cryosophila cookii is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found only in Costa Rica. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Costus barbatus is a critically endangered species of plant native to Costa Rica. Costus barbatus is a perennial plant with a red inflorescence. The foliage of Costus barbatus is dark green and fuzzy underneath. The long red inflorescences are complemented with bright yellow tubular flowers. Clumps spread easily and produce plants that normally get to six feet tall. Costus barbatus flowers all year round. Costus barbatus is pollinated by hummingbirds. The name Costus barbatus has often been mistakenly applied to Costus comosus. Costus comosus can be found in nurseries and botanical gardens,

Bactris longiseta, the huiscoyol, is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is found in Costa Rica and Nicaragua around Estero Real Natural Reserve. It is threatened by habitat loss.