A Day Seized in Belize

En route from Montevideo to New York, I made a two-night stopover in Belize. It allowed me a day of driving through a natural reserve and I was able to spot about half of the 11 oaks reported to grow in Belize. I arrived on a Friday late afternoon in Belize City and drove through dusk and dark to San Ignacio, which would be my base and lies within easy striking distance of Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. As I drove through the Reserve the next morning, the first oaks I saw—and would keep seeing through the day—were Quercus oleoides, a Section Virentes relative of live oak (Q. virginiana). Acorns were newly formed and last year's dried up crop was lying below some trees (perhaps suggesting absence of predators?) New growth was tan-colored and attractive, sometimes coloring the whole canopy. The bark is dark and sometimes very rugged. The local name in Spanish is encino negro (black oak). The accompanying Red Oak I found with it was Q. sapotifolia. Further on I started seeing an oak that reminded me of Quercus insignis' leaf shape and wine-red new growth. It was later identified as Quercus segoviensis. Other oaks seen included Q. elliptica, some with striking new growth featuring blood-red leaves and pale yellow twigs, and the endangered Q. purulhana. For all species aside from Q. oleoides, it was too late for acorns. The next day, on the way back to the airport, now in daylight, I found Q. oleoides all the way back to the coast, and in the lowlands the acorns were more mature but still green. Photos follow.

I am indebted to Fernando Tobar for identifying the oaks in these photos.

Photos © Roderick Cameron