Hummingbird pollination
The
epiphyte
flowers Maggie was constantly collecting from the trail all seemed
to be cast from a similar mold. Most of the blooms had long tubes
and were either pink, orange, or red --- clear signs of hummingbird
pollination.
Scientists estimate that
about a sixth of Monteverde's plants are pollinated by these tiny
birds, and whole families seem to have placed their reproductive
potential into the beaks of hummers. Ericaceae, Gesneriaceae,
Bromeliaceae, and --- on the forest floor --- Heliconiaceae are all
hummingbird pollinated.
As you ascend the
mountain above Monteverde, hummingbird-pollinated flowers become more
and more numerous. Cooler temperatures at high elevations make it
tough for insects to fly, so hummingbirds are the best pollinator
around (although bats and hawkmoths are also common pollinators.)
So it's no wonder Monteverde's cloud forest floor is littered with pink
and orange tubes, leftover from yesterday's hummingbird feasts.
3-26-01
Today
we got our housing contract made --- quite an ordeal, but we did
it. The contract even explains that I have one surname since I'm
from the US --- apparently everyone here has two. The lawyer was
very unfair to us, and I had to make him go back and change part of the
contract, but after 2.5 hours, it was done.
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