narrow fringe of vegetation
that borders the sandy coastline. Almendro is an introduced species,
originally native to India, that has been naturalized and now
grows wild along many Costa Rican beaches. Able to withstand the
harsh sunlight, salty air and drought prone soils typical of this
habitat, the tree has proven itself to be an aggressive competitor:
reproducing rapidly and forming stands whose dense shade inhibits
the growth of native vegetation. Description: Large Almendro trees usually have bent or inclined trunks (35 cm), thanks in part to the high winds and loose substrate that they are subjected to along the coast, but also due to their tendency to grow toward the open ocean, where sunlight is most abundant. Moderately irregular as well, boles possess shallow folds and occasional knobs or burls that mark the location of fallen branches. The bark is tan colored and rough. Since the canopy of the coastal forest is relatively open, high levels of insolation are able to penetrate to the soil, encouraging even large Almendro trees to maintain branches along their entire lengths. These limbs - relatively few in number - emerge at right angles to the boles and continue to grow horizontally as leaves are added each season. New twigs extend laterally in repetitive, upwardly-concave arcs, mimicking a growth pattern typical of the Combretaceae at large. Particularly evident in smaller Almendro saplings (up about 15 m in height), branches are often arranged in discreet whorls, with five or six limbs emerging simultaneously from periodic nodes along the trunk. The crowns of such small trees appear to be made up of thick, parallel sheets of foliage - especially when viewed from a distance. Older Almendro crowns are narrow and densely packed with large leaves that permit little direct sunlight to reach the ground. Almendro leaves are large (21 by 13 cm), simple, and alternately arranged. The broadly elliptical or spatulate blades are entire and quite smooth, with some golden pubescence present on the undersides of the yellow veins and on the petioles (1.5 cm). The blades are organized in whorl-like clusters, concentrated at the tips of the twigs. In an unsynchronized, random event occurring sometime between September and March, Almendro leaves turn bright red, are completely shed, and regenerate, with trees remaining leafless only briefly. Both types of imperfect, petalless flowers (6 mm) are borne on the same, spike-like racemes (20 cm), though the sexes are spatially segregated. Located distally, the more numerous male blossoms are each composed of five green sepals (arranged into a five-pointed star); five, basally positioned, reddish nectar glands; and ten, short stamens. Female flowers, numbering four or five per raceme and occupying its base, are distinguished by their longer, swollen pedestals and well-developed pistils - though they too have (nonfunctional) anthers. Flowers are visible all year on
Almendro trees, but there is
a marked peak in flowering activity during the weeks following
crown renewal and in the early rainy season months of April through
July. Fruits develop from the enlarging female flower pedestals,
located proximally along the spike. Measuring 6 cm by 4 cm, each
is a somewhat flattened, ovoid drupe, sporting a thin, encircling,
lateral lip or apron. Maturing from green to yellow, a thick layer
of fibrous, edible flesh surrounds a single, almond-shaped seed
(2.5 cm by 1 cm). Harvest continues all year long, with a slight
peak in activity observable during the dry summer months of March
and April. Seeds germinate easily in the sandy soil, fairly soon
after fruit fall. Growing along the beaches, emerging seedlings
are easily recognizable for their spirally wound seed leaves that
later unravel into a pairs of opposing, ovoid blades.