Dipteryx panamensis is a large canopy emergent tree found in primary forest that belongs to the Fabaceae family, sub family Papillionoideae. D. panamensis is endemic in lowland wet tropical ranging from Nicaragua to Colombia on the Atlantic side (Fournier 2003). When flowering the tree produces millions of pink lavender flowers with a distinct odor similar to sweet peas. The flowers are pollinated by at least 13 species of medium-to-large opportunistic bees but the flowers are known to be visited by 20 different species of bees (McDade 1994). D. panamensis produces single-seeded green drupes encased in a thick woody endocarp that are dispersed by a wide range of mammals. The Great Green Macaw and three rodent species also act as seed predators on the fruit of D. panamensis (De Steven & Putz 1984). D. panamensis is classified as a keystone species because of its fruiting during a time of food scarcity for frugivorous animals (Hanson et al. 2006). D. panamensis is currently classified as an endangered species according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES 2014).
Endemic to the lowland wet tropical forests of the Caribbean from Nicaragua to Colombia (Fournier 2003).
The mammals that utilize the D. panamensis fruit are subdivided into two categories. The first category, the dispersers, consists of mammals that only consume the fleshy exocarp and leave the endocarp intact, which includes several species of monkeys, four species of bats such as Carollia and Artibeus spp., pacas, and coatis. The species of bats may provide long distance seed dispersal when traveling to feeding roosts but other mammals tend to leave seeds close to the parent trees (De Steven & Putz 1984). Scientists hypothesize that the fruit may have been dispersed by a large Pleistocene mammal that is now extinct because the fruit’s morphology is very similar to that of some elephant dispersed fruits in Africa (Janzen & Martin 1982). The second group of mammals, seed predators, consists of the peccary and three rodents, the red-tailed squirrel, the spiny rat and the agouti. However, in certain instances the agouti and the squirrel can act as dispersers for D. panamensis as they are known to cache seeds (Forget 1993). In addition to these mammals, the Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) is also a known seed predator of D. panamensis as they can chew or crack the hard endocarps and extract the seed (Hanson et al. 2006).
Dipteryx panamensis is currently listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora as an CITES Appendix III species and was also recently designated as a species Vulnerable to extinction after an evaluation of Costa Rican plant species was done using the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List Criteria (IUCN 2014). D. panamensis is also connected to the conservation efforts for the endangered Great Green Macaw, which depends on D. panamensis for nesting and acts as one of its only food sources (Hanson et al. 2008). In Costa Rica alone 90% of the Great Green Macaw’s nesting zone has been reduced by the country’s uncontrolled logging of D. panamensis, which has become the primary hardwood for truck beds, flooring, and other special uses. Unfortunately, as the species of D. panamensis becomes scarcer and scarcer due to logging the wood dramatically increases in its worth essentially provides more reason for loggers to continue cutting (Chassot & Arias 2002).
Dipteryx panamensis flowers in the early wet season with mature trees producing a large floral display consisting of up to an estimated 0.6 to 1.3 million pink lavender flowers (McDade 1994). Each hermaphroditic flower functions for only one day, which begin opening at dawn and are fully open one hour later. Within the first two hours after sunrise the flower reaches maximum production for nectar, which on average is six microliters. In addition to nectar, the flowers also release a strong odor, similar to sweet peas, which can be detected hundreds of feet away (Perry & Starrett 1980). D. panamensis flowers are often visited by other organisms then just its pollinator including flies, hummingbirds, and butterflies (McDade 1994).
Dipteryx panamensis fruit consist of a single seeded green drupes encased in a thick woody endocarp. The fruit and seed of D. panamensis is used by 16 mammal species for consumption (De Steven & Putz 1984).
D. panamensis is considered a keystone species because of the timing and quantity of its fruit production. During the late season (November) through the middle of the dry season (February) few trees produce fruit, causing a food scarcity for frugivorous animals. D. panamensis bears single-seeded green drupes during this period providing a critical abundance of fruit to the animal population (Hanson et al. 2006).
Dipteryx panamensis is pollinated by a least 13 species of medium-to-large opportunistic bees such as Trigona or Mesoplia spp. (Perry & Starrett 1980).
