As Seen On TV, in the flesh
“Once inside a rainforest, structural complexity is obvious. How immense it seems, and how dark and enclosing as dense canopy foliage shades the forest interior, especially in the attenuated morning light.”
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“The bad news is that for students of Neotropical biology, it will not be possible to identify accurately most plants to the level of species. There are just too many look-alike species, and the ranges of many species are not precisely known….”
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“As we continue our perambulations through the rainforest we cannot help but notice the plethora of vines and epiphytes. Trees are so laden with these hitchhikers that it is often a challenge to discern the actual crown from the myriad ancillary plants. With binoculars and practice, however, we can begin to make some sense of what is growing where and on what.”
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“In many tropical forests, even the epiphytes can have epiphytes. Tropical leaves are often colonized by tiny lichens, mosses and liverworts, which grow only after the leaf has been tenanted by a diverse community of microbes: bacteria, fungi, algae and various yeasts, as well as microbial animals such as slime molds, amoebas, and ciliates. This tiny community that lives among the leaves is termed the epiphyllus community, and its existence adds yet another dimension to the vast species richness of tropical moist forests.”
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All quotes from James Kirchner’s A Neotropical Companion
