Plants of the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve

This page contains lists of plants found in the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve which straddles the states of Colima and Jalisco, in Mexico. The reserve is located in the transition of the Nearctic and Neotropical realms and encompasses parts of the Sierra Madre del Sur, with a wide range of altitudes, climates and soils. The effects of tectonic and volcanic activities and erosion are notable within the reserve.

Forest types in the reserve including mesophytic, cloud, and dry deciduous and semi-deciduous tropical forests. Anthropologists know the region as Zona de Occidente, an area notably different to the rest of Mesoamerica. Some ceramic remnants, figurines and graves have been found, but there is little other material evidence. As of 1995 almost 8,000 people lived in the Sierra de Manantlán Reserve, engaged mainly in agriculture (corn, beans, tomatoes, sugar cane, watermelon, mangoes), livestock grazing, timber production, and extraction of wood for fuel and mining of coal or minerals. Another 30, 000 lived in the surrounding communities and almost 700,000 in the surrounding region of influence. ^[1]

Ecological characteristics

The Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve is located to the extreme north of the inter-tropical zone. The climate in the region is influenced by various factors in addition to its latitude, such as its proximity to the coast, the effect of its landform – orographic shade – and the breadth of the altitudinal range, which partly goes to explain the high regional biodiversity and the presence of numerous plant formations ranging from tropical forests to those of temperate-cold climates.

The Sierra de Manantlán’s varied and complex plant cover harbours a great wealth of flora. There are over 2900 species of vascular plants belonging to 981 genera. Wildlife is one of the important components of the high biodiversity in this reserve. Among the main values of the Sierra de Manantlán, in addition to its great wealth of species and its unique biogeographical characteristics, particular mention should be made of the presence of endangered or useful endemic species. So far 110 species of mammals have been reported, among which the Mexican vole Microtus mexicanus neveriae and the pocket gopher Cratogeomys gymnurus russelli, in addition to other mammals such as the oncilla, the jaguarandi, the ocelot, the puma, the bobcat, the jaguar and four species of nectarivorous bats.

Three hundred and thirty-six species of birds have been reported, among them 36 which are endemic to Mexico, such as the charismatic species: the crested guan (Penelope purpurascens), the military macaw (Ara militaris), the red-lored amazon (Amazona autumnalis) and the Mexican national symbol, the golden eagle. In terms of herpetofauna, 85 species have been recorded; of these it is known that 13 are endemic to the western and central region of Mexico: the rattlesnake, the black iguana, the frog Shyrrhopus modestus, the beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum) and the Autlan rattlesnake (Crotalus lannomi), an endemic species only reported for the area of Puerto de Los Mazos. Of the 16 species of fish identified, 13 are native and four are endemic to the region.

Most plants in the list can be found in Flora de Manatlán,^[2] and should be assumed as a reference when no other is indicated. References to other sources are included where found. The herbarium web pages at the Univerisdad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico ^[3] and at the Missouri Botanical Garden^[4] used as the authorities for names with added adjustments for the system in use by Wikipedia. Species include ecosystem, growth habit, and common names where available.

Ecological characteristics

Magnoliopsida or Dicotyledons

Justicia or Jacobinia

Ruellia or Blechum

Apocynaceae or Asclepiadaceae

Campanulaceae or Lobeliaceae