Flora

Trees

Despite the cliché to the contrary, it's often a good thing to be able to identify specific trees within a forest. We've included illustrations of the leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruit to get you started.

Ceiba

Scientific Name -- Ceiba pentandra

Worth Noting -- Also known as the kapok tree, ceiba trees are typically emergent (their large umbrella-shape canopies emerge above the forest canopy), making the species among the tallest trees in the tropical forest. Reaching as high as 60m (197 ft.), their thick columnar trunks often have large buttresses. Ceiba trees may flower as little as once every 5 years, especially in wetter forests.

Prime Viewing -- Countrywide.

Guanacaste

Scientific Name -- Enterolobium cyclocarpum

Worth Noting -- The guanacaste tree is one of the largest trees found in Central America, and gives its name to Costa Rica's northwestern-most province. It can reach a total elevation of over 39m (130 ft.); its straight trunk composes 9 to 12m (30-40 ft.) of the height (the trunk's diameter measures more than 1.8m/6 ft.).

Prime Viewing -- Countrywide.

Strangler Fig

Scientific Name -- Ficus aurea

Worth Noting -- This parasitic tree gets its name from the fact that it envelops and eventually strangles its host tree. The matapalo or strangler fig begins as an epiphyte, whose seeds are deposited high in a tree's canopy by bats, birds, or monkeys. The young strangler then sends long roots down to the earth. The sap is used to relieve burns.

Prime Viewing -- Primary and secondary forests countrywide.

Cecropia

Scientific Name -- Cecropia obtusifolia

Worth Noting -- Several Cecropia (trumpet tree) species are found in Costa Rica. Most are characterized by large, handlike clusters of broad leaves, and a hollow, bamboolike trunk. They are "gap specialists," fast-growing opportunists that can fill in a gap caused by a tree fall or landslide. Their trunks are usually home to Aztec ants.

Prime Viewing -- Primary and secondary forests, rivers, and roadsides, countrywide.

Gumbo Limbo

Scientific Name -- Bursera simaruba

Worth Noting -- The bark of the gumbo limbo is its most distinguishing feature: A paper-thin red outer layer, when peeled off the tree, reveals a bright green bark. In Costa Rica the tree is called indio desnudo (naked Indian). In other countries it is the "tourist tree." Both names refer to reddish skin. The bark is used as a remedy for gum disease; gumbo limbo-bark tea allegedly alleviates hypertension. Another remarkable property is the tree's ability to root from its cut branches, which when planted right end up, develop roots and leaves, forming a new tree within a few years.

Prime Viewing -- Primary and secondary forests, countrywide.

Flowers & Other Plants

Costa Rica has an amazing wealth of tropical flora, including some 1,200 orchid species.

Guaria Morada

Scientific Name -- Cattleya skinneri

Worth Noting -- The guaria morada orchid is the national flower of Costa Rica. Sporting a purple and white flower, this plant is also called the "Easter orchid" as it tends to flower between March and April each year.

Prime Viewing -- Countrywide from sea level to 1,220m (4,000 ft.).

Heliconia

Scientific Name -- Heliconia collinsiana

Worth Noting -- There are more than 250 species of tropical heliconia, of which more than 40 are found in Costa Rica. The flowers of this species are darkish pink in color, and the underside of the plant's large leaves are coated in white wax.

Prime Viewing -- Low to middle elevations countrywide, particularly in moist environments.

Hotlips

Scientific Name -- Psychotria poeppigiana

Worth Noting -- Related to coffee, hotlips is a forest flower that boasts thick red "lips" that resemble the Rolling Stones logo. The small white flowers (found inside the red "lips") attract a variety of butterflies and hummingbirds.

Prime Viewing -- In the undergrowth of dense forests countrywide.

Red Torch Ginger

Scientific Name -- Nicolaia elatior

Worth Noting -- Called bastón del emperador (the Emperor's cane) in Costa Rica, the tall red torch ginger plant has an impressive bulbous red bract, often mistaken for the flower. The numerous, small white flowers actually emerge out of this bract. Originally a native to Indonesia, it is now quite common in Costa Rica.

Prime Viewing -- Countrywide, particularly in moist environments and gardens.

Poor Man's Umbrella

Scientific Name -- Gunnera insignis

Worth Noting -- The poor man's umbrella, a broad-leaved rainforest ground plant, is a member of the rhubarb family. The massive leaves are often used, as the colloquial name suggests, for protection during rainstorms.

Prime Viewing -- Low- to middle-elevation moist forests countrywide. Commonly seen in Poás National Park and Braulio Carrillo National Park.