Abstract:
The rain tree, or "genizaro" ("cenizaro") (Pithecellobium saman (Jacq.) Benth.
=Samanea saman (.Jacq.) Merrill) is common throughout the lowlands of Central
America and much of South America, and has b"cn introduced throughout the lowland
tropics. This mimosaceous legume is indigenous tothe Pacific coastal lowland
deciduous and riparian forests of Gucinacaste Province, Costa Rica, where I have
been studying its natural history since 1963. In this paper I describe the intensity
of seed predation by two species of bruchid beet les in the seed crop" of 81 large ad ul t
trees growing in 6 difTerent habitats. I intend this data to augment the slowly growing
body of information on the pattern and intensit y of seed predation in Costa Rican
tropical forests (.Janzen 1969, 1970a. 1971a, 1971b, 1971c, 1972, 1974, 197)a, 1975b,
1975c, 1976a, 1977a, 1977b, 1977c ; Wilson and Janzen 1972 ; Hatheway and Baker
1970) and thereby to be of usc in understanding the potential impact of seed predation
on tropical forest structure.
