By James Bausano
This forest giant resides on the Catarata Trail, at the San Gerardo Station in the heart of the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. At first glance, the tree is truly magnificent; its size alone is enough to inspire awe. But the giant also has a story to tell, and as I venture closer, a more intricate tale unfolds.
Real estate doesn’t come cheap in the rainforest: every inch of soil, rock, and tree seems to be home to plants, fungi, moss, and lichens as they compete for one of the rainforest’s most precious resources: sunlight. The bark, nooks, and crannies of this tree are no exception.
Plants that grow on other plants are known as epiphytes (sometimes also called “air plants”). They are not usually parasitic; they get their nutrients and water from the environment, and produce their own food through photosynthesis. Epiphytes belong to many different groups; they are abundant in rainforests and cloud forests in particular.
Standing at the tree’s base, I first notice a fuzzy skin of moss and lichens blanketing the bark. Looking further into the hidden forest of plants on plants, I notice a vast array of bromeliads jutting from the tree, covering every branch I can see. Bromeliads (botanical family Bromeliaceae, also known as the pineapple family) are a unique plant group, known for their great variety and diversity. With well over 2,700 species worldwide, bromeliads are easily recognized by their rosette-like leaf arrangement (imagine the top of a pineapple).
Bromeliads are an important part of the rainforest ecosystem. Bromeliads capture water in the spaces between their thick leaves, storing water and nutrients for future use. These pools of water are habitat for single-celled organisms and aquatic insect larvae, which later become food for frogs, snakes, spiders, scorpions, and even some small crab species (among others!). Bromeliad pools double as nurseries for many of the predators and prey listed above, providing shelter to eggs, larvae, and even tadpoles.
Further examining the great tree, the bright flowers of an orchid catch my attention. The orchid family includes more than 25,000 species worldwide; 550+ species are found in Monteverde alone! Orchids are best known for their spectacular flowers, but this group also provides commercial products, including vanilla.
Finally I notice the strong green colors of ferns growing up and down the tree. Despite making up only 0.0048% of the Earth’s land area, the Children’s Eternal Rainforest is home to an incredible 3% of the world’s fern species, as 360 species of this ancient group make their home in the CER.
Epiphytes are part of the majesty of the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, and really of any rainforest or cloud forest. They create a richer and denser habitat to sustain biodiversity, adding a new dimension to the forest. Next time you visit the rainforest, look for these “plants upon plants upon plants” – a living reminder of nature’s exceptional intricacies.
Want to learn more about epiphytes?
James Bausano is a Lehigh University student and completed an internship with the Monteverde Conservation League in July 2016. Lindsay Stallcup is the Executive Director of the MCL. The title of this post was inspired by Conserve You (Cloud Forest Parody of “Me Too” by Meaghan Trainor).