Palms and Other Vegetation in Costa Rica
I took the Costa Rica trip in late Nov./early Dec. 2000.
PALMS
Cocos nucifera--coconut palms at Dominical, Costa Rica (viewed from knee-deep in the ocean) with (secondary) rainforest in the background
Cocos nucifera--another beach view with coconut palms
Cocos nucifera (surrounded by Terminalia catappa (tropical almond) where a creek meets the beach
The following palm pictures were taken at Wilson Botanical Gardens, where they have over 700 types of palms (3800 feet elev. near San Vito in southern Costa Rica)
Astrocaryum alatum (Black Palm)
Attalea butyracea--a palm with enormous leaves--has a large native range in Latin America
Dypsis decipiensis--a rather cold-hardy palm that appears to be at its warm-climate limit here
Hyophorbe verschaffeltii (Spindle Palm)--native to the Mascarene Islands (Mauritius) in the Indian Ocean
Oenocarpus mapora--a clustered palm native from Costa Rica to Bolivia
A group of Pigafetta elata (Pigafetta Palms)--native to parts of Indonesia/New Guinea
Rhapidophyllum hystrix (Needle Palm)--quite a surprise given this is one of the most cold-hardy palms!
Sabal mauritiiformis--these are probably the largest sabals I've seen anywhere--spotty range from SE Mexico to northern South America
Socratea exorrhiza (Stilt Palm)--quite unique and has a large native range from Costa Rica to deep into South America
TREES
Alnus acuminata (Mexican Alder)--photographed at 6000 feet east of Volcan Poas--This is native to a large section of (mostly highland) Latin America.
Ceiba pentandra (Kapok)--very large specimen in virgin rainforest of NE Costa Rica (1500 ft. elev.)
Coffea arabica (Coffee Tree)--These were along (literally, within 500 feet) the Costa Rica-Panama border (with coffee beans). Some were being harvested close by.
Crescentia cujete (Calabash)--photographed in San Carlos, Nicaragua (SE side of Lago de Nicaragua)
Ficus auriculata (Roxburg Fig)--at Wilson Bot. Gardens with fruits growing directly from the trunk (and there were even some growing like mushrooms from exposed roots)!
Gmelina arborea (Gray Teak)--from India--photographed at Wilson Bot. Gardens.
Tectona grandis (Teak)--from Tropical Asia--photographed at a plantation along the highway east of Dominical, Costa Rica. This is the teak which is highly valued for its wood.
Recommended trees for daring people (OR BOTANICAL GARDENS) to try in California:
Clusia stenophylla (probably) (This is different from Clusia rosea (the autograph tree), which is a low-elevation Caribbean tree and is marginal in coastal southern California)
Schefflera rodrigueziana (probably)--a handsome high-elevation Schefflera that might be hardier than the Southern-California favorite, the Schefflera actinophylla.
Both of these trees were found near the top of Volcan Paos (at around 9000 feet in elevation, which has an average annual temperature probably in the upper 50s--similar to San Francisco).
PLANTS
Here's some unidentified bamboo from over 11,000 feet (about 50 miles south of Cartago on Cerro de la Muerte)--this local area is nearly treeless because of fires from lightning and not quite because of "timberline".
Gunnera--A patch of large gunnera at 6000 feet A smaller gunnera (but with similar-sized flowers) at over 11000 feet on Volcan Irazu
Petrea volubilis--tropical-looking (looks AREN'T deceiving here) plant with purple flowers at Wilson Bot. Gardens.
An identified unusual flower--deep in the rainforest in NE Costa Rica
OTHER PICTURES
Here's a small rocky stream in the rainforest (2000 ft. elev, NE Costa Rica)--note the guacamayo (Bocconia frutescens) in the foreground--usually found at higher elevations.
Another rainforest creek (1500 feet in NE Costa Rica)
Rainforest view (2000 feet in NE Costa Rica with cloud bases near the tree tops)
Here's cloud forest (mostly shrubs (and gunnera) with a few small trees) at over 11,000 feet on top of Volcan Irazu.
A view from above the clouds from near the top of Volcan Irazu.
Here's another high-elevation view from around 11000 feet, this time from near Cerro de la Muerte.
Catarata La Paz (a waterfall) at about 4500 feet elev. east of Volcan Paos--you can walk on the ledge behind the falls to get a view like THIS!
alternate view of the waterfall
A river near Dominical, Costa Rica
View of the grotesque crater of Volcan Poas--yet beautiful plants and flowers grow at the rim.
Toucans high in a cecropia tree near Dominical, Costa Rica
But most importantly, get out of San Jose as fast as possible!!!
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