Bromeliads Everywehre
These grow hard, wiry roots to attach themselves to trees and rocks giving the appearance of a parasite. They’re not. They find, and store, their own food and water. The water is stored at the base of their rosette leaves making a great home for tiny poison dart frogs and other insects. Plant leaves might be yellow, green, red, striped, spotted and variegated in any number of different patterns. The flowers are brilliantly colored and exotic." -Source
Some Facts about Costa Rican Bromeliads:
- "The majority of bromeliads in Costa Rica are air plants, but some also grow in the ground.
- Pineapples are terrestrial bromeliads.
- In Costa Rica, the Ceiba tree is where the majority of bromeliads grow.
- Bromeliads are the brightly flowered spiky leafed plants growing on the trees in Costa Rica.
- Costa Rica has more than 2,000 different species of bromeliads, and is known for being the richest deposit of bromeliads in Central America.
- The majority of Costa Rica’s bromeliads are found in the rainforests and higher-altitude cloud forests such as Monteverde.
- Many bromeliad leaf surfaces are covered with small, flat scales attached in the center, know as a rosette. The rosette functions as a small reservoir to collect water and rainfall in Costa Rica."