When we imagine a forest, many times the first thing that comes to our mind is plenty green vegetation and lush trees. However, when we visit places with different climates, we are able to recognize other types of forests, such as the “seasonally dry” forest. It receives this name because the dry season and the rainy season are very pronounced in these territories. This seasonality is caused by a weather phenomenon called “rain shadow”. When the warm and humid wind travels from the coasts, it collides with the mountains, cooling and discharging water (windward). This is how the rain is formed in the upper parts of the mountains, creating humid or cloud forests, at this point the air is already dry and when it passes to the other side of the mountain it warms up and creates a current of dry and warm air that goes down to the valley, (leeward) generating the conditions of the dry forest.
Much of the vegetation in this forest is deciduous (shed leaves) in the dry season, so many plants flourish during the rainy season. Although we are not always able to distinguish several of the species that reside in this forest due to its seasonality, some of the most common that we can find are: Cactus of the genera Pereskia, Acanthocerus, Stenocereus, Nopalea, among others; Ceibas species such as Ceiba aesculifolia; the Mayflower (Plumeria rubra); the Palo de Jiote (Bursera simaruba); bromeliad species such as Bromelia pinguin and Bromelia hemisphaerica; among other species of flora and fauna which make this place unique and special. Every month when we go to Livingston in Izabal, we enjoy and make stops in this area, especially in Zacapa to continue documenting the beautiful biodiversity of the dry forest.
The dry forest in the dry season (April, 2021) and dry forest in the rainy season (July, 2021)". First photo is by Haniel Lopez and second photo is by Roxana Leal, FLAAR Mesoamerica.
Posted August 10, 2021
Written by Vivian Hurtado & Roxana Leal Identified Species by Victor Mendoza
During our July-August expedition in Livingston, at the beginning of Quehueche Beach, right next to the bridge that connects it with La Buga, Ipomoea pes-caprae, was documented. Commonly called “Campanilla de playa” in Spanish or “Beach Morning Glory” in English belonging to the Convolvulaceae family. This is a vine that grows in the ground with very showy purple flowers. It has a very thick root that can be 3 meters long and 5cm in diameter, forming a dense mat of low growth that eventually covers the soil completely. The stems can be 30 meters long. It is a plant that tolerates the salinity of the sand on the beaches, it has a great distribution since its seeds are dispersed by the water without being affected by salty water.
This vine is important, as it has different uses. The leaves are edible, cooked and eaten as a vegetable, alone or combined with other vegetebles. Roots are also edible, but in minor quantities because they are strongly laxative. The Beach Morning Glory, also has medicinal properties: leaves are anodyne, astringent, diuretic, emollient, laxative and tonic; the root is diuretic and laxative, as we already mention; the seeds are said to be good remedy for stomach-ache and cramp when chewed; and researches have shown some extracts from the stems has strong anti-tumor actions. It is a good option for ornament too, many times you can find Ipomoea species decorating gardens.
Have you seen this beautiful flower in the beach before?
During the June expedition for the Livingston Biodiversity Project, Izabal, we observed Selenicereus testudo, a species of cactus found on the branch of trees. On our third day we had the joy of seeing two flowers of this species. Something that we had not seen in the previous months. According to Véliz in “Las Cactáceas de Guatemala” (2008), the species occurs in Chiquimula, Izabal, Zacapa, Alta Verapaz and Petén. Its flowering is nocturnal and happens between April and October.
The same author also mentions that Guatemala is one of the three entities in the Mesoamerican region with the greatest richness of cacti, the other two are the State of Chiapas, Mexico and Costa Rica. In the Guatemalan territory there are 48 native species plus 4 intraspecific categories.
FLAAR Mesoamerica’s team has documented this species in Parque Nacional Yaxha, Nakum y Naranjo. You can find more information here.
Photographed by David Arrivillaga with a Sony A1 using a FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS lens at Rio Dulce. Settings: 1/400 sec, f/9, ISO 1600.
Photographed by David Arrivillaga with a Sony A1 using a FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS lens at Rio Dulce. Settings: 1/400 sec, f/10, ISO 1600.
Posted July 14, 2021
Written by Vivian Hurtado & Roxana Leal Identified Species by Victor Mendoza
With the help of the Garifuna team of George and his team of Where the Pirates Hide, on the outskirts of the town of Livingston, Izabal, Guatemala, we were able to photograph this remarkable local native tree.
Grias cauliflora tree has flowers on trunk and branches, so this tree is cauliflorous (same as Theobroma cacao, and Crescentia cujete, and Crescentia alata).
The March 2021 ethnobotanical and zoology field trip is the west end of Canyon Rio Dulce and east half of El Golfete, Municipio de Livingston, Izabal, Guatemala, Central America.
Here is David, Haniel and Nicholas with helpful assistants doing the photography of the cauliflorous branches and trunk of Grias cauliflora tree. We have Sony, Nikon, and Canon cameras and every kind of macro lens: 35mm, 50mm, 60mm, 105mm, 200mm Nikon tele-macro, and 180mm Canon tele-macro. Plus a 5X Canon super-macro lens system.
