Monteverde epiphytes
Anna:
5-10-01
Clambering
around on a fallen tree laden with epiphytes, I realized that tropical
rainforests aren't as devoid of small herbs as they seem to be --- the
herbs are just all up in the trees. Epiphytes live in a very
different land where competition for light is rather irrelevant and the
problems are finding water and nutrients and clinging to the branch for
dear life. Because while some larger epiphytes can survive for up
to two years if knocked from their perch, a tiny Peperomia would be
quickly lost in the shuffle.
Epiphytes are the most
striking feature of the cloud
forest. The
phrase literally means "upon plant" and refers to 
species
of all shapes and sizes that perch on the trunks or branches of
trees. Here in temperate U.S.A., epiphytes are limited to crusts
of lichen and mosses, but in tropical areas with a nearly constant
rainy season or daily heavy fogs, epiphytes can tear down branches with
their weight. A little lower down the mountain, the Pacific
slope seasonal forest
has a pronounced dry season, so epiphytic plants tend to dry up and are
much less diverse around the elevation of the town. You have to
travel to the peak to see the real epiphyte circus.
You
might think that trees would do their best to shed epiphytes, but it
turns out that epiphytes do their part to keep their hosts
healthy. The pockets of dirt held in place by epiphytes stimulate
the tree to grow crown roots out of their trunks and branches, allowing
the trees to suck up some of the nitrogen and water captured by the
epiphytes from the surrounding fogs. In return, the crown roots
keep the little clumps of soil from sliding off the side of the tree,
which provides a better habitat for epiphyte seed germination.
Although the diversity of
Monteverde epiphytes is staggering, once you break them down to the
family level, there are just a few main contenders. Orchids and Piperaceae
enjoy living on the outer branches of trees where their succulent
leaves help these epiphytes put up with water stress. In the
sheltered center of the canopy, bromeliads and members of Ericaceae
colonize the larger branches that can sustain these generally heftier
plants' weight. Finally, the upper trunks of trees are often
populated with aroids and members of Gesneriaceae,
epiphytes whose fruits are dispersed by birds and mammals perched on
the first branches.
Of
course, no post on epiphytes would be complete without a quick mention
of hemiepiphyes. Strangler
figs are the classic
example of this category of plants that begin life as epiphytes, then
send down roots and finish their career as terrestrial trees. In
the Monteverde area, Clusia
was another extremely common hemiepiphyte, its unique leaves resulting
in Quaker children giving it the nickname "Mickey Mouse plant."
(Please note that most
but not all of the plants included in this post are epiphytes.
I've thrown in a few species that are members of common epiphytic
families, but which grow on the ground.)
Maggie:
3-22-01
I am writing by the light
of the setting sun through our large windows
in our newly rented house. Yesterday, Anna drew a graph of our
emotional ups and downs. She probably should have waited for today.
Anna:
I nearly didn't survive
this day. I tried to call Silvia [our new landlady] in the
morning, but couldn't get through and didn't want to ask repeatedly to
use the hotel phone. So we took a chance --- packed up and
checked out
and set off down the road. Surprisingly, I had the same joyous
feeling
of being a vagrant that I always feel when moving to a new place.
Even
though the Mammoth was packed to the brim with library books, I still
had a spring in my step.
Maggie:
Last night the phone line
was cut off when Anna was going to ask Sylvia
if we could move in today. So after our breakfast, we packed up and
began our journey to the Supercoop [grocery store]. The walk was mostly
painless despite the heavy bags. When we arrived at the Supercoop, we
attempted to call Sylvia, but failing, we walked on to our beautiful
yellow home.
Anna:
The house sits on a
hill, down which we can look at neighbors,
conifers, eucalypts (!), and a row of windswept, native giants.
On the south side of the house lies a woods with trails,
which may be quite extensive. As
I write this, I'm stiting on my thermarest in the living room, looking
downhill --- west --- at the sun setting behind the trees. But
then I wasn't so peaceful. I was worried about getting the house,
and I jittered around a bit.
Maggie:
We lay in the sunny yard
until Sylvia and Tino (the worker who greeted
us with a machete on our first arrival) came walking up the road.
Another "Anna" came with them, also to look at the house.
Anna:
At 11:50 am, Silvia
arrived and gave us the tour and didn't seem to
find it too odd that we had all our stuff here and wanted to move right
in. But she put us in a state by going back to wanting us to pay
utilities, which is, quite simply, over my budget.
Maggie:
My Anna repeatedly asked if
Sylvia would pay the utilities, only to
receive avoidant answers or no answer at all. "I have friends who are
renting smaller houses for $500."
I can barely see the page
in this dim light but the beat of a
neighbor's drum is guiding me along the page. Mostly the house is
quiet. It is blessed with its very own woods. Also there is a shed
where Sylvia's husband used to make instruments such as violins.
Anna:
After Silvia left us,
Maggie pounded granola against the wall and I was
generally angry. We didn't unpack, but sat, playing cards, while
waiting for her to return with sheets and blankets and kitchen stuff
she'd promised us.
When Silvia returned, my
game plan was in place. I asked her a
hundred questions, including things like --- what are those cracks in
the ceiling? Will the roof leak? What's with the piece of
wood which blew off the roof? Then came the ultimatum --- we
can't take the house if we have to pay utilities.
The answer wasn't
perfect. For the first month, we won't pay
utilities, then Silvia will look at the electricity and water bills and
we'll renegotiate.
Maggie:
Anna even made it clear
that we would not pay for utilities the first
month. Only after we pointed out every flaw in the house. Luckily a
piece of roof fell off just before she arrived. Reluctantly, she agreed
on our rental offer.
Soon after she left, we
exploded with joy. I attempted to cartwheel in
the hall. The bare house grew in our minds, acquiring a tremendous
beauty.
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