Trees of Monteverde's cloud forest
My
first impression of the cloud
forest was pure awe,
but after that the scientist took over. Here's a quick rundown on
the most distinctive trees of Monteverde's cloud forest.
Monkey
Comb or Peine de Mico (Sloanea
ampla) dropped
spiny fruit cases all over the cloud forest floor. The tree
probably gets its common name from the tendency of the White-faced
Capuchin to rub the
fruits against its fur, an action that looks to the untrained eye like
the monkey is combing its hair. Scientists suspect that monkeys
have little use for a hairbrush, though, and instead hypothesize that
Monkey Comb is being used to deter ticks, or perhaps is being put to
medicinal use as an antibacterial, anti-fungal, or anti-inflammatory
agent. Other scientists hypothesize that monkeys rub plants on
their fur as a form of scent marking. Untangling the purpose
behind these clever monkeys' actions could turn up an ethnobotanical
use for Monkey Comb.
Sapote or Zapote (Pouteria
fossicola) is one of several plants
given this same common name in Central and South America. The
plants all have one thing in common --- soft edible fruit (already
eaten in the drawing above, leaving behind a large, hard seed.)
This Sapote's better known relative Chicle (also sometimes called
Sapote) is the basis of chewing gum.
Angel's
Hair (Cojoba
costaricensis) is an odd tree to be
dominant at cloud forest elevation since most of the high elevation
trees had leathery, simple leaves. On the other hand, legumes
were a common occurrence further down in the dry forest --- stay tuned
for more on Costa Rica legumes in a later post.
With a name like Raspa
Lengua (Hasseltia
floribunda) (literally "scrape tongue"),
I suspect this tree might be an edible. The only relevant pages
on the English-speaking internet, though, note that Raspa Lengua is
eaten by White-faced Capuchins.
The rest of the trees I
drew in the cloud forest weren't considered diagnostic features, but I
can't resist including a few more that caught my eye. The bright
red fruit caps of Blakea gracilis were one of my favorite finds
on the forest floor, but the flowers are of more interest
ecologically. Blakea
gracilis is
probably pollinated by bees, but a related species in the Monteverde
forest is rodent pollinated. Can you imagine a mouse running
along tree limbs to sip nectar from these little flowers?
Deer
Antlers or Cacho de venado (Oreopanax
xalapensis) commonly dropped huge
compound leaves onto the path. Sometimes only the long leaf
stalks were left behind, and it took me several minutes to match these
long brown "sticks" up to their parent tree.
And, finally, a slew of
collected fruits --- I just can't resist!
Most of our cloud forest explorations took place in the Monteverde
Cloud Forest Preserve, a 26,000 acre tract of protected land at the top
of the mountain. Although we could take a taxi to the top for 400
colones (about $1.50 at the time), I was pinching pennies and opted to
instead take the bus up the hill and then walk the 5 to 6 miles home in
the afternoon. As Maggie wrote, "Going to the
Preserve means getting up at 5:45 AM to catch the yellow school
bus. So
in need of early sleep, I will end my writing somewhat incomplete."
Need to leave home for a few
days? Your chickens will be well hydrated when you return if you
treat them to our homemade chicken
waterer.
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