NAME AND PICTURE
SCIENTIFIC
NAME OF PLANT
Strangler Fig
Ficus aurea
GROWING
LOCATION
 ‘strangling’
growth
technique
 Grows on top of
other trees
 Inhabits cloud
forests in Costa
Rica
Orchid
Cattleya skinneri


DEFENCE
MECHANISMS
 Grows
on other
tree for more
light in low-light
rainforests
 Roots twist
down host tree
to get water
and nutrients
and water
Usually grow
on trees
Grow virtually
everywhere in
Costa Rica

Mimicry- some
species flower
mimics the
appearance of
an insect to
either attract
certain bugs to
pollinate, or
repel bugs that
are unwanted
Pitcher Plant
Nepethenes

Found in
swampy or
boggy areas

Capture prey in
the tube with
gel-like
substance
lining tube
Teak Tree
Tectona grandis

Grows in rich
soil and in
tropical climate
Prefers location
with 3 month
long dry
season

Natural oils
make tree
resistant
against all
weather
conditions
Found in Africa
and Americas
Mainly grows in
sandy soil
Often grows in
the shade


Calabash
Lagenaria siceraria



Hard outer
shell of fruit
protects seeds
KEY/UNIQUE
CHARACTERISTICS
ABOUT PLANT
The fig fruits are
edible, but small
and bitter
 Seeing as it does
not take nutrients
directly from the
host tree, it is not
considered a
parasite
 Begins as a
epiphyte (see
below)
 More than 1300
species in Costa
Rica
 Vanilla is the fruit
on a certain type of
orchid
 Orchids are the
official flower of
Costa Rica
 The different types
of orchids vary
drasticly
 Carnivorous- it
insects
 Have 2 sexesfemale and male



Not native to Costa
Rica
Valuable
hardwood- often in
plantations


Leaves of plant
are edible
Reports of fruit
poisoning
humans
Air Plants
Epiphytes
Resurrection Fern
Polypodium
polypodioides



Angel’s Trumpet Tree
Brugmansias
suaveolens
Coconut
Cocos necifera
Sensitive Plant
Mimosa pudica
Root on to
other plants
Attaches to
other plants
Grows in
hardwood
forests
Prefer areas
that are humid
and have a
large water
supply
 Established in
residential
areas in
Central
America
 Grow along the
ocean coasts
 Grows in sandy
areas with an
abundance of
sunlight and
regular rainfall



Grows
extensively in
tropical regions
Prefers warm
areas
Gets sufficient
water from runoff
of other plants
 Thrive off of
decaying plant
matter

When there is
little
precipitation, it
withers/ shuts
down then
returns to
normal function
when normal
conditions return
 Poisonous

The husk and
outer seed make
it difficult to get
at the edible
part of the
coconut





Leaves fold
inward when
dark, touched,
shook, warmed
Orchids, ferns,
lichens and many
other plants are
classified as air
plants
It is also an
epiphyte
 Can withstand
periods of drought



Their fragrance is
only emitted after
dark
Drop coconuts
hoping to drop into
ocean and arrive in
a remote area
Considered
invasive in other
parts of the world
Extracts of the
roots is thought to
be able to
neutralize effects in
venom of
monocled cobra
References:
All About the Pitcher Plant . (n.d.). Carnivorous Plants Website: Care, Plant Types, and Sources. .
Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://www.carnivorous--plants.com/pitcher-plant.html
Angel Trumpet Plant - Growing Angel Trumpets - Angel Trumpet Tree. (n.d.). Plant Guides, Pictures And
Growing Information . Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://www.botanical-journeys-plantguides.com/angel-trumpet-plant.html
Costa Rica Nature | National Flower and Tree. (n.d.). Costa Rica Vacation Rentals - Beach Rentals, Luxury
Rental Homes, Houses, Villas, Jaco, Tamarindo, Flamingo, Manuel Antonio, Rent a Vacation
Home, House, Villa, Condo. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://www.villascostarica.com/costarica-nature.html
Floridata: Brugmansia suaveolens. (n.d.). Welcome to Floridata. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from
http://www.floridata.com/ref/b/brug_sua.cfm
Floridata: Polypodium polypodioides. (n.d.). Welcome to Floridata. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from
http://www.floridata.com/ref/p/poly_pol.cfm
Lagenaria siceraria. (n.d.). PlantZAfrica.com Homepage. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantklm/lagensic.htm
McCabe, G. (n.d.). Orchids native to the southern nicoya peninsula - Montezuma, Malpais, Santa Teresa,
Etc. Montezuma, Costa Rica - Hotels, Car Rentals, Beaches, Real Estate, Rental Houses,
Restaurants, Activities, Community, Culture, and Tourist Information. Retrieved June 28, 2011,
from http://www.montezumabeach.com/orchids.html
Mimicry. (2011). In Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/383252/mimicry
Product Information . (n.d.). The Green Investment Co . Retrieved June 28, 2011, from
http://thegreeninvestmentco.com/our-investments/product-information/
Resurrection fern. (n.d.). The School of Forest Resources and Conservation. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from
http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/Resurrection_fern/resufern.htm
Strangler Figs. (n.d.). Backyard Nature with Jim Conrad. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from
http://www.backyardnature.net/yucatan/stranglr.htm
Tropical Hardwood- Tencona grandis Teak. (n.d.). Finca Leola- Costa Rica Reforestation. Retrieved June
28, 2011, from www.fincaleola.com/teak.html
costa rica flora. (n.d.). viva costa rica. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://www.vivacostarica.com/costarica-information/costa-rica-flora.html
sensitive plant (botany) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Encyclopedia - Britannica Online
Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/534761/sensitive-plant