In Lagunita Creek area you can find several creeks made by spaces between mangroves, generally you can see a lot of Red Mangrove. It is difficult to navigate in this place, especially if the boat is large and has a roof, like the one we were transporting on this expedition. On this occasion among the Red Mangrove we could see Gray Mangrove, also called Button Mangrove or Buttonwood.
Its fruit is dark red and round. It was important to document this species, since we do not have as many photographs in our digital library.
Conocarpus erectus is a tree highly branched, producing a leafy crown with gray branches and a central stem that can measure up to 1 m in diameter. It is widely distributed in the Antilles, from Mexico throughout the Atlantic and on the Pacific side from northern Mexico to northeastern Peru.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom
Plantae
Order
Myrtales
Family
Combretaceae
Genus
Conocarpus
Species
Conocarpus erectus
Botanical description:
Leaves
Lanceolate 3 to 8 cm long by 1 to 3 cm wide.
Flower / Inflorescence
In the form of panicles that measure from 5 to 10 cm and flowers organized in balloon-shaped capitula of 2 to 3 cm in diameter with ovate bracts and acuminate apex.
Fruits
Flattened with two tiled wings in a structure similar to a 10 to 12 mm brown cone.
On the shore of Laguna Yaxha in front of the museum and camp area you can find a dock that is currently covered by water, on the left side there is a Stone Sheet. During our October expedition we were able to observe its spike. We documented it in the afternoon just at sunset, so the light was very good.
Anthurium schlechtendalii is an herbaceous plant belonging to the ARACEAE family. Its common name is pheasant’s tail, or also known as stone leaf (in Spanish). It is native from Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Mexico (Yucatan peninsula); Nicaragua, humid places of tropical forests from 0 to 15,000 meters above sea level.
Botanical description:
It is a generally epiphytic plant, or in lesser cases lithophytic or terrestrial. It has a stem 3 to 5 cm in diameter, numerous white fleshy roots. Its leaves are supported by a thick, erect, 8-20 cm long petiole, elliptical obovate with wavy margins. The inflorescence is in the shape of a spadix, very characteristic of the Araceae family, supported by a peduncle 35 to 50 cm long. The flowers are 2 mm arranged in a spiral where only those found in the lower part are hermaphrodites. The fruits are oblong berries 1 to 2 cm long, bright red with two seeds. It is a plant that germinates generally by seeds once it has sufficient conditions and falls on organic material rich in nutrients and humid between 26 and 28 degrees centigrade.
In our October expedition we made a walking tour in Yaxha Park, where we documented the flora that was found from the entrance to Temple 216 or Temple of the Red Hands. Right at the entrance we were able to photograph very photogenic white orchids that were attached to a tree.
Prosthechea radiata is an epiphytic and / or lithophytic plant, that means it can live attached to other plants or rocks (it is not parasitic). It is characterized by an intense and pleasant sweet aroma. Belonging to the ORCHIDACEAE family. This is distributed from sea level to 2000 meters above sea level and can be found in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Botanical description:
Glabrous plant measuring 12 to 40 cm in height. The pseudobulbs are ovoid-ellipsoid type, lemon green in color and with 2 or 3 apical leaves to it). The pseudobulbs are 4 and 13 m long and 2 to 3 cm wide. The leaves are linear lingulate to linear lanceolate, leathery, 11 and 35 cm long and 1.2 and 3.2 cm wide. The flowers are pale lemon green color and cream tones, with a marked and characteristic aroma and the lip is marked by parallel purple lines.
On the road between Santa Elena and Yaxha in Petén you can find Cuajilote trees (Parmentiera acueleata). On our October expedition, when we were heading to Yaxha, Nakum and Naranjo National Park, we made a stop on the road to photograph this tree.
Its fruit was just ripe, one of them almost fell on us when we were photographing it.
Botanical Description
Greenish cauliflower flowers, stems with thorns at the nodes. Its shape is a medium tree. Its bark is slightly fissured yellowish brown. The leaves are usually opposite with three leaflets or simple. Solitary or grouped flowers 5 to 6 cm long that grow directly from the trunk or at the ends of the branches, in this case the flowers are green with light pink or purple lines. The fruit is a bay of approximately 15 cm x 6 cm usually curved from yellowish to green (Peña & Kanpp, 2011). This plant prefers warm climates, but it can thrive in all types of soil (Red de Viveros de Biodiversidad, n.d.).
Uses
It is a fodder tree, which serves as food for wildlife and shade for pasture and firewood. It has medicinal uses; the aqueous extract of the flower, fruit, bark and root is used to cure kidney stones and asthma and cough discomforts. The root is also used as a diuretic. The wood can be used for carpentry (Red de Viveros de Biodiversidad, n.d.).
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Plantae
Division
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Lamiales
Family
Bignionaceae
Tribe
Crescentieae
Genus
Parmentiera
Species
Parmentiera acueleata
Common names
Cuajilote, Guajilote, Cacao de mono
References
PEÑA, M. and S. KNAPP
2011
Árboles del mundo maya. London, England: Natural History Museum: Pronatura Península de Yucatán: Fundación ProPetén: Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. 263 pages.
Thypa domingensis is an emerging rooted macrophyte, which we have seen in several areas of Livingston. This time it was documented in Laguna Grande. If you open its simple stem, you can see fiber inside which tulle can be made.
Cattail (Thypa dominguensis) at Laguna Grande, Rio Sarstun, Livingston. October, 2021. Photo by Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth with iPhone 12 Pro Max, FLAAR Mesoamerica.
Typha domingensis Pers. It is a very striking plant and is frequently found in continental water bodies and on occasions it is used as a phytoremediation due to its nutrient absorption capacity to avoid accelerated eutrophication in water bodies or in wastewater treatment plants. It is described as an aquatic herb, leaves generally equaling or exceeding the height of the spikes, attenuated pods towards the blade up to 1.5 m long and 0.8 to 1.3 cm wide, acute apex. Its inflorescences are in the form of light monero spica with foliaceous bracts. The male spike is up to 42 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, generally separated from the female. The fruits are spindle-shaped, 1 to 1.5 mm long.
Typha domingensis it is commonly known as: Cattail, tule, tulle, body of water, cat's tail, breast tail, petalzmicua, savanna candle, tulle or passion reeds.
This species is often used for basketry and handicrafts. It is also used as fodder for animal feed, it also has medicinal properties for the treatment of the skin in issues of hair loss and burns. It can be used as shingle straw and as an ornamental ornament.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom
Plantae
Subkingdom
Tracheobionta
Division
Magnoliophyta
Class
Liliopsida
Order
Poales
Family
Typhaceae
Genus
Typha
Species
Typha dominguensis
Common names
Cattail, tule, tulle, body of water, cat's tail, breast tail, petalzmicua, savanna candle, tulle or passion reeds.ypha
When we were navigating through the entrance of Laguna Grande we could observe different structures of the red mangrove in which we could highlight the tiny yellow flowers and two red mangrove fruits. We had not had the opportunity to photograph these ripe fruits and the intense red color they present is incredible.
The red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) is a tree species of the Rizophoraceae family typical of mangrove ecosystems. It is commonly called red mangrove, Colorado mangrove, chifle mangrove, zapotero mangrove or cunapo.
Different uses are attributed to Rhizophora mangle
Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) at Laguna Grande, Rio Sarstun, Livingston. October, 2021. Photo by Roxana Leal with iPhone 13 Pro Max, FLAAR Mesoamerica.
Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) at Laguna Grande, Rio Sarstun, Livingston. October, 2021. Photo by Victor Mendoza with Sony RX10, FLAAR Mesoamerica.
Use
Part of the plant
Adhesivo
Látex
Handricrafts
Wood
Colorants
Cortex
Fuel
Wood
Edible
Fruit
Construction
Wood and leaves (for ceillings)
Tools
Wood
Medicinal
Cortex, leaves and root
Melliferous
Flower
Botanical Description
Habit
Prenifolio tree of saline habitat, 15 m high up to 30 m.
Size
Simple inflorescence of 2 to 3 flowers, actinomorphic and the corolla is about 1.8 cm
Stem
Brown berry about 2 to 3 cm long by 1.5 wide
Leaves
Alternate up to 25 cm long, composed of rachis with up to 5 to 15 pairs of secondary axes with narrow leaflets of up to 11mm.
Inflorescence
It has viviparity (the seed germinates within the fruit). Green color, it measures between 22 and 40 cm long and between 1 and 2 cm in diameter.
Flowers
It has fulcreatic, branched, arched and curved roots where modified roots called stilts develop.
Fruits and seeds
Opposite and simple, agglomerate form measuring 8 to 15 cm long and 4 to 6 wide.
Importance of mangroves:
They protect biodiversity, since they serve as a refuge, feeding and reproduction area for many terrestrial and aquatic, migratory and local species.
Its roots are of great importance because they can fix sediments and regulate erosion, protecting coastal marine areas because they hold mud and help to extend the mainland. They have a high carbon storage capacity in plant tissue.
Serve as natural barriers against tropical storms and hurricanes.
Mangrove ecosystems serve as natural filters as they absorb a large amount of nutrients in the water in order to prevent eutrophication.
They maintain the quality of the water. They work as a filter for some pollutants.
They are of great economic importance due to the fishing species that they harbor.
