Plants of Sítio do Cervo
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Flower of Aechmea sp. bromeliad, in front of the house. Photo Tim Hirsch.
As a total beginner when it comes to botany, I have been much slower in getting to grips with the dizzying variety of plantlife at Sítio do Cervo, than I have in educating myself about birds. But as I gradually build up images and knowledge of this aspect of the biodiversity, I will attempt to give an overview of the kind of plants that are found here. One of our longer-term visions for this place is as a destination for researchers or just plant enthusiasts seeking comfortable and secure access to this extraordinarily vibrant ecosystem. There is a constant rotation of colours and scents that is intoxicating to the ignorant amateur, so I guess it would be a great playground for the knowledgeable. These mosses and cacti hanging from one of the trees near the main house, backlit here by the golden evening sun, give a sense of the communities of plants you see colonizing every available structure. Each tree is an ecosystem in its own right.
Epiphytes
Probably the most fascinating of the epiphytes - those plants that use other plants for support but do not act as harmful parasites - is the bromeliad, or Bromeliaceae family, represented in rich abundance throughout both the forest and the more open areas. Coming in many shapes and sizes (including the pineapple, adapted from a ground-growing member of the family), most species have striking flowers that, during their respective seasons, bring bold colours to the forest interior. Hummingbirds love them. A common characteristic is the funnel-shaped crown of leaves that directs rainwater to a pool in the base - which acts as a micro-system in itself for tree-frogs and other creatures. They are also much-used as bird baths (such as by this Tropical Parula pictured below).
The other epiphytes that grab the eye are of course the orchids. In some of the nearby protected areas such as Ilha do Cardoso and Juréia, more than a hundred species have been identified, and it would be interesting to find out how many we have here in this fragment of secondary forest. Apart from the flashy ones like these growing on a tree near the house, you regularly come across all sorts of delicate orchid flowers growing on trees right in the middle of the forest. It is fascinating to look at their techiques for hanging onto vertical trunks using the tendrils that keep them rock-solidly attached even in the strongest storms.
The trees inside the forest are also very rich in these Philodendrons, better-known as cheese plants. Before I came here I had only seen them in people's living rooms in centrally-heated homes, and had no idea they grew by attaching themselves to trees. They are among a number of plants that drop thin roots down the surface of the trunks to the ground, giving the larger trees the look almost of a service shaft sending nutrients up into the canopy to feed the mass of life using the structure to capture light.
Just to demonstrate that these piggy-back plants are not using the trees for sustenance, this large granite boulder a few metres into the forest from the back of the house has a mass of epiphytes growing on its surface. They include a flowering bromeliad (see photo below) which somehow manages to attach itself to the vertical face of the rock.
Nothing contributes more to the "jungle" feel of this type of forest than the tangle of vines or lianas that hang from the branches. Some are the classic "Tarzan" kind, others much more woody and solid such as the one pictured left, known in Portuguese as Escada do Macaco, or monkey ladder. Apparently some of these vines are as old as the trees themselves.
