Braulio Carrillo National Park

Braulio Carrillo National Park.  We hiked up and down this place for several hours one morning without seeing many birds.  I, however, snapped lots of pix of plants and flowers.  It used to be one of the major birding areas in Costa Rica however there's been a lot of road building (widening a major highway) and subsequent building around the park borders.  It's not so birdy any more.

A glance at the canopy

At the forest floor

Lianas, more lianas.....

Passion Flower  Passiflora vitifolia.  So pretty in the midst of the green, green, and more green of the tropical forest.

Heliconias are among my favourite tropical plants.  This one is Heliconia longa.

Impatiens grow wild here, one of the many types of ground cover we, here in North America, value as annuals in our yards and planter boxes.  This is Impatiens walleriana, at the entrance to the park.

At the edge of the parking area, a Morning Glory (Ipomoea spp.) peeks out from under a large dead leaf.

A Cycad.  This is a female cone, of the genus Zamia, possibly Zamia fairchildiana

A primary forest giant

My reference:  A Guide to Tropical Plants of Costa Rica, written by Willow Zuchowski and photographs by Turid Forsyth.  I got my copy at Monte Verde during my first visit to CR. 

This is another must-get book for nature lovers visiting Costa Rica.   I tend to collect field guides, in general.  This is one of the best I have.  The author not only describes the plants (in terms the rest of us understand), she also talks about the importance of given plants to the culture and economics of the country and how they are used.  It's a very interesting book.

The photographs are beautiful.

As always, click on the photos to enlarge, if you want to.