Category: Plants

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Tropical flowers are my Fireworks!

I love all of the tropical flowers, and among my favorites are the 35+ species of Heliconia flowers native to Costa Rica, and yes, they do grow in the wild, especially in rainforests or along rivers and other bodies of water. My cabin this week is surrounded by at least a dozen different species of Heliconia flowers. Below the one photo for the email version you will find a gallery of fourteen heliconia blooms from around my cabin. Happy Fourth of July! And yes, I’m having a great 85th birthday! And the rain is never a problem! That helps make all these beautiful flowers! 🙂

Heliconia Flower at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, Costa Rica.
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La Gamba Tropenstation

This morning after breakfast I walked the maybe half mile down the road to La Gamba Rainforest Research Station sponsored mainly by the University of Vienna, Austria, hoping to see more butterflies! But only got one there plus one on the road near Esquinas Lodge which I will share later as part of Esquinas. 🙂

At the research station, I simply walked the garden trails, looking for nature to photograph and got quite a few photos in less than an hour. Here is a sampling of the photos in a gallery below the email photo with not everything identified yet. I have to go to the dining room for internet connection, but prepare these posts and the photos on my cabin porch during the afternoon rain, though it didn’t rain this afternoon, but will tonight! 🙂

Brown Basilisk, La Gamba Rainforest Research Station
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Garden Dragonfly

This is a Blue-eyed Setwing, Dythemis nigra (linked to my Gallery) which is not a new species for me and these photo IDs have been confirmed by iNaturalist. I have both dragonflies and damselflies visiting my garden somewhat regularly, though they tend to stay closer to the water of a stream across the cow pasture from me. Two shots from different angles . . .

Genus Dythemis Dragonfly, in my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica
Genus Dythemis Dragonfly, in my garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

See my GALLERIES: Dragonflies & Damselflies Costa Rica

Plant a tree!

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New Butterfly Species . . .

. . . for me at least, and for BAMONA, as I had to ask for the additional species, though there are lots (160) of observations on iNaturalist CR. This was of course in my garden, on the “Once de abril” or Golden Dewdrop flowering shrub (Duranta erecta). The butterfly is the Anius Metalmark (Charis anius), one of the tiny (thumbnail sized) Metalmarks. In addition to the iNat observations above you can find a little bit of info on iNaturalista Costa Rica. It is found from Honduras south to Brazil. No other information seems to be online nor in my books. I got only two shots before he disappeared.

Anius Metalmark, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Anius Metalmark, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

It’s our choice!

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This Year’s Maraca Crop

At almost opposite times of the year I get two crops of Maraca Flowers each year with red ones in November in my front gardens and these yellow ones in April to June in my back garden, which is always the larger of the two crops. Some North Americans or other English speakers call them “Shampoo Ginger” or “Pinecone Ginger” while Costa Ricans call them “Maracas.” My first time to see them was on one of my expeditions to Guatemala and loved this tropical oddity from the beginning. And its aromatic liquid in the bracts can actually be used as a shampoo or conditioner. 🙂 The scientific name is Zingiber zerumbet and they are usually red, yellow or orange in color.

Maraca or Shampoo Ginger, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

And on the other side of my house (streetside) are the red ones now dying out as these yellow one come in. I don’t know why they are on different schedules, but it means I always have some Maracas blooming! 🙂

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Mexican Silverspot

A nice colorful heliconian that I was glad to see in my garden the other day, Mexican Silverspot, Dione moneta (my gallery link). It’s the colorful ones that are called “flying flowers.” 🙂

Mexican Silverspot, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Mexican Silverspot, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

¡Pura Vida!

sustainable development ecology

“The time to protect a species is while it is still common.”

― Rosalie Edge

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Repotted My Desert Rose

Back in 2017 when my artist friend and next door neighbor, Anthony Jeroski, returned to the states, I got his favorite pot plant, a Desert Rose. It has been one of my favorites also and has literally bloomed constantly, year around, these past 7 years. I repotted it back then and since it seemed a little crowded recently, I had one of the plant nurseries (viveros) repot it for me this time. 🙂

I’ve had a Crown of Thorns that also bloomed year around, but it finally died, while this little guy just keeps on producing! The feature photo is of the new pot which was dormant at first (or in shock) for about a month in its new pot, but has started blooming again and will soon have blooms on every stem! Here’s one shot for the emailed version, followed by the online gallery of multiple shots. Another one of my many joys of being retired in Costa Rica! 🙂

Desert Rose plant, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica
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Asilidae or “Robber Fly”

is here in my garden eating one of the brilliant Green Orchid Bees. Asilidae is the Family of robber flies or assassin flies with many different species, especially here in the tropics, so I’m not likely to find the species name, but will hope someone on iNaturalist knows! 🙂 You can read about them in the Asilidae article on Wikipedia. Another fun little insect here in Costa Rica! 🙂 And Robber Flies pretty much all over the Americas! And you can see other photos on iNaturalist Costa Rica with a map of where the many photos there have come from.

Robber Fly or Assassin Fly (eating an Orchid Bee) , Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica

See some of my other interesting CR insect photos in that gallery link.

¡Pura Vida!