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Giants of the Forest

One of the most overwhelming wonders of nature in Costa Rica are the trees. Their impressive size demands silence and respect. While admiring these old giants, it is inevitable to think how many years have these trees been there? How many animals have nests among their branches or roots? How many animals have survived eating the leaves, the flowers or the fruits of this tree? How many seasons and changes have been their silent witnesses?

Pochote (spiny cedar)- Bombacopsis quinata (Bombacaceae)

This is a common tree of the Pacific dry forest. Up to 30 meters tall, its trunk and branches have thorns. It is a deciduous tree with white flowers that open only during one night (attracting hawkmoths and bats) and then the flowers fall throughout the next morning.

Ceiba (kapok tree)- Ceiba pentandra (Bombacaceae)

This huge tree can reach 50 or 60 meters in height and is one of the most impressive trees in the wet forests and in the wet areas of the dry forests. The trunk has conical spines on its branches. It flowers during the dry season, and the fruit is a capsule with several black seeds mixed among cotton-like fibers. These trees are bat-pollinated. Due to the crown shape, harpy eagles use these trees to construct their nests on top of the kapok trees.

Ceibo barrigón- Pseudobombax septenatum (Bombacaceae)

These trees are similar to the Ceiba trees, but they have green lines on their trunk that differentiate them from the kapok. They are very common in the Pacific coast, but they are also present in the Atlantic lowlands. The name "Ceibo Barrigón" refers to the barrel-shaped trunk. Flowers are white and very distinctive, because they have a lot of stamens. The flowers, as well as the Ceiba flowers, open at night and are bat-pollinated. The flowering season is the dry season.

Combretac: Surá, Terminalia oblonga, amarillón (t. amazonia), Euphorb: Javillo (Hura crepitans), Mimosaceae: Guanacaste Enterolobium cyclocarpum, Cenízaro (Samanea saman), Robles (Quercus sp fagaceae), Cedro amargo (cedrela odorata). Manilkara chicle. Tempisque (Spotaceae, Sideroxylum capiri), Botarrama (Vochysia ferruginea)

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