The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Ocotea monteverdensis (Spanish: aguacatillo, quizarrá blanco, quizarrá amarillo) is a critically endangered tree species in the family Lauraceae, endemic to the cloud forests of Costa Rica. It plays an important ecological role as a food source for several frugivorous birds, including the three-wattled bellbird, which disperses its seeds. The species has declined due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and low regeneration rates.
The fruit of O. monteverdensis is eaten by many tropical species, including birds and animals. These include the Black guan (Chamaepetes unicolor), the Resplendant quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno), and especially the Three-wattled bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatus), which plays an important role in seed distribution of O. monteverdensis. The oilbird, Steatornis caripensis, is also known to feed on O. monteverdensis. The bellbird, in particular, plays a key role in the life cycle of O. monteverdensis. It exhibits a strong preference for consuming the fruit. After consumption, the bird regurgitates the seed from its perch, which tends to be on dead branches. The increased level of sunlight increases the likelihood that seedlings will be viable.
Ocotea aciphylla · Ocotea amplifolia · Ocotea basicordatifolia · Ocotea benthamiana · Black Stinkwood · Ocotea catharinensis · Ocotea cuneata · Ocotea gabonensis · Ocotea glaucosericea · Ocotea harrisii · Ocotea heterochroma · Ocotea jelskii
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ocotea monteverdensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
