TAXONOMY OF CENTRAL AMERICAN AND MEXICAN PINES

Over the past decade, seed of some Central American and Mexican pines has been distributed for international provenance trials and for the establishment of ex situ conservation stands. In parallel with the evaluation work underway in a large number of countries, further botanical and genecological exploration has been carried out in the regions of natural occurrence of the species. These studies have resulted in a number of proposals for taxonomic splits and changes in nomenclature, many of which are potentially of great practical importance.

Some of the provenances under review include, among others, the important Nicaraguan Pinus oocarpa seedlots from Yukul (K42, K94, K101, K128, K140); San Rafael del Norte (K44, K142); and Camelias (K1, K2); and seedlot K11, El Conacaste, from Guatemala.

In a future issue of FGRI, we hope to publish a more exhaustive account on these matters. Presently, we would like to draw your attention to the following articles and notes:

- Styles, B.T. (1976). Studies of variation in Central American Pines. I. The identity of Pinus oocarpa var. ochoterenai Martinez. Silvae Genetica 25(3–4):109–118.

- Styles, B.T., Stead, J.W., and Rolph, K.J. (1982). Studies of variation in Central American pines. II. Putative hybridization between Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis and P. oocarpa. Turrialba 32(3):229–242.

- Anon. (1982). Technical notes- Notas Técnicas. CAMCORE News No.2, December 1982, p.11 (School of Forest Resources, North Carolina State University, P.O. Box 5488, Raleigh N.C. 27650, U.S.A.).

- Anon. (1982). “Forest Botany” (p.3); and “Central American Pines and Hardwoods” (p.5). In: Annual Report 1981–1982. Unit of Tropical Silviculture, Commonwealth Forestry Institute (South Parks Road, OX1 3RB Oxford, U.K.).

- Stead, J.W. (1983). A study of variation and taxonomy of the Pinus pseudostrobus complex. Commonw. For. Rev. 62(1):25–35.

- Barnes, R.D. and Styles, B.T. (1983). The closed-cone pines of Mexico and Central America. Commonw. For. Rev. 62(2):81–84.

- Stead, J.W. (1983). Studies of variation in Central American pines. V. A numerical study of variation in the Pseudostrobus group. Silvae Genetica 32(3–4):101–115.