16 of Cuba's 28 endemic plant species are protected in the park including such fauna as Dracaena cubensis and Podocarpus ekman.
The totarol in the bark of Podocarpus trees is synergistic with anacardic acid in its bactericidal effects.
Podocarpus | Podocarpus totara | tÅtara tree (''Podocarpus totara'') | Podocarpus National Park | Podocarpus globulus |
Anolis podocarpus occurs in the upper basin of the Zamora River in southeastern Ecuador in secondary forest, montane cloud forest and evergreen forest.
Species in this order are found almost exclusively in the tropics, primarily as a pathogen on the gymnosperm Podocarpus, although it has been found on other plants like the Southern Hemisphere beech Nothofagus, and Drimys.
They are typically found under Nothofagus species, but have also been recorded under species of Leptospermum, Dacrydium or Podocarpus.
Conifers (Podocarpus, Dacrycarpus, Dacrydium, Papuacedrus, Araucaria, and Libocedrus) and broadleaf trees of the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae) form a thin canopy, with a prominent understory.
; other synonyms include Podocarpus ustus (Vieill.) Brogn. & Gris, and Nageia usta (Vieill.) Kuntze.
Plants adapted to the alpine conditions include woody shrubs like Hebe, Dracophyllum, and Coprosma, the conifer Snow Totara (Podocarpus nivalis) and Carex sedge grasses.
The garden was established in 1967, and now cultivates about 1,500 species of useful plants, including collections of Cactaceae and other succulents (such as Agave, Euphorbia, Kalanchoe, Stapelia, Sansevieria), Iris, Lilium, Paeonia, Rosa, Syringa, as well as flora of Asia and the Far East, Kazakhstan, Europe, the Americas, and medicinal plants and conifers such as Podocarpus.