I have heard that there is plumeria in Costa Rica....does anyone know in which area? Anyone know what types?
Thanks,
Davie
Plumeria in Costa Rica
i know that gordon has seen them growing on the hot, rocky cliffs in panama. and i just found this link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/1942522285/in/photostream/
and i found this, too. the only question now is where.
source:
Haber, W. A. (1984) Pollination by deceit in a mass-flowering tropical tree Plumeria rubra L. (Apocynaceae). Biotropica, 1984, Vol.16, No.4, pp.269-275, 39 ref.
notes:
AB: Flowers of P. rubra share many traits with hawkmoth-pollinated flowers, though nectaries are lacking. The pollen was recovered from the tongues of 17 of 50 hawkmoths collected during the main flowering period (April-June) in Costa Rica. Rates of visitation and fruit set were very low compared with other hawkmoth flowers of the deciduous forest. Hawkmoths in a flight cage avoided nectarless P. rubra flowers, but fed readily from these flowers when artificial nectar was added. Although no specific model for P. rubra was found in Costa Rica, the presentation of generilized scent and visual cues that mimic typical hawkmoth flowers may facilitate deceitful pollination of this species. [hawkmoth is quite specialized]
Don't know what types, but we saw them outside of San Juan and elsewhere when we were there several years ago. They were popular in front gardens.
Davie,
I have spent a lot of time in Costa Rica in the last year... I went by car to Turriallba, Tortueguero, Guanacaste,
Manual Antonio, Arenal and seen everything in between... The only place I saw a tree was just outside San Jose
on the road to Quepos... in someone's yard... So there is not many plumerias in Costa Rica... The weather would be
great for them.. I even visited some botanical gardens, can't say I saw any there either... Lots and Lots of palm trees
and wild orchids.. Hope this helps
Pam
They are all over the NW coast growing out of rocks as you can see from my flickr page..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/393865582/sizes/o/in/set-72157594501128141/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/393865187/sizes/o/in/set-72157594501128141/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/1942522285/sizes/o/in/set-72157594501128141/
The 60 foot trees are in the Brasalito area around Playa Conchal..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/411178421/sizes/o/in/set-72157594501128141/
I have seen a dry plumie forest there mostly just the whites..
I have heard there are colored plumies near the embassy..
This message was edited Apr 30, 2009 2:46 AM
i was wondering who the mad plumerian was. duh...i can see your screen name in the flickr link that i posted above now that i look. :)
what was the soil like on the NW coast?
did you collect any seeds? i remember the ones that gordon collected from panama. those plumie seeds were gigantic!
Thank you everyone for your responses!
Dete, is the carribean seedling you sent form one of Gordons seeds?
Davie
nope. those are from anegada in the caribbean. i should do a post on pals and get an update on the panamanian seedlings.
wow... amazing pictures... those trees are huge...
Brittany
Quoting:
i was wondering who the mad plumerian was. duh...i can see your screen name in the flickr link that i posted above now that i look. :)
Yeah who is that mad dude is he crazy?
;=)
Quoting:
did you collect any seeds? i remember the ones that gordon collected from panama. those plumie seeds were gigantic!
No I have cuttings from the tree growing in my yard..
I took the sample of the 60 foot tree for Dr.Meerow in Miami when he does his DNA test some time in the future..
The local plumie called Flamingo produces huge seeds also..
The soil in Costa Rica is all Volcanic and in fact everyday that Volcano spits out fiery boulders so bring your camera..
The soil makes the plumies grow large..
This is my neighbor again standing next to a typical plumie..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/422894623/sizes/o/in/set-72157594501128141/
Look at the size of the leaves they are 3+ feet long and my neighbor is 6'2" so you can see the size difference..
One of the worlds largest Orchid farms is also in that area so have fun..
This message was edited May 1, 2009 1:13 AM
The Arenal Volcano is amazing. I wish I had taken digital pictures, but all I took were 35MM. The volcano erupted day and night while we were there. It was breathtaking.
We also visited San Jose, Tortugero, Siquerres, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio. I can't wait to go back!
A local nurseryman just came back from Costa Rica and said he had heard there that these large plumeria did not lose their leaves like a common rubra would. Lopaka, can you elaborate on this? The trees were sixty feet tall he said, and he was up in them on a zip line...
They lose their leaves because of the drought during the winters..
As you can see from some of my links they have no leaves..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/393865582/sizes/o/in/set-72157594501128141/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/393865187/sizes/o/in/set-72157594501128141/
This tree is around 60.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/411178421/sizes/o/in/set-72157594501128141/
What you don't see are the full size trees and bushes under the tree..
He had to use a ladder to climb up because the tree is also growing out of the cliffs..
He is around 27 feet up and the picture was taken standing on a boulder at the bottom of the hill.
If you look carefully there is another big plumie on the left..
Behind the tree is the ocean below and here is a cutting from the tree..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/422894696/sizes/o/in/set-72157594501128141/
Florida is no stranger to large plumie trees..
Here is one around my area after Hurricane Wilma took the top off..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lopaka/398623072/sizes/o/in/set-72157594501128141/
Old plumies turn into Oak trees very woody less sappy..
This message was edited May 2, 2009 12:17 AM