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This little wildflower I saw along the side of the road in front of my house. Upon checking, I found that I had seen it one other time in my garden back in 2023 before I used iNaturalist and had an identification. I’m pretty certain of this ID which has already been verified by a botanist on iNaturalist. To see my 2023 observation, go to my gallery Scrambling Dayflower. You can read more about it on both iNaturalist and on Wikipedia.
¡Pura Vida!
This is another one of those “international migrants” in Costa Rica that grows well here but is native in this case to Brazil, Surinam, & Venezuela. At first glance I though it was a Red Ginger, but on a closer look, there are several differences! It is just one more species I’ve added to my Under Construction CR Flowers by Species with only this photo in the Brazilian Red-cloak gallery now. You can read about and see where others have seen this flower in Costa Rica on iNaturalistCR by clicking “View All” under TOTAL OBSERVATIONS where there is a map showing where. Or read more about them on Wikipedia (en español) or shorter one in English.
¡Pura Vida!
This is one of those peculiar butterflies in the Pieridae Family (whites-yellows-sulphurs) that can sometime appear more yellow (as this one) or in my experiences is usually more white or “whitish.” 🙂 It is the Statira Sulphur (my gallery link) seen frequently in my garden though this one was at the nearby Hotel Colinas del Sol during my overnight there for a house fumigation. It is found mostly in Central America with other Costa Rica sightings seen on iNaturalist Costa Rica where I am the lead observer and for those seen in Florida and South Texas in the states, check out BAMONA where I keep CR represented. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Note that as of today, we are still having a normal October with rain every afternoon and all are hoping that it will be sufficient to bring the water table back up from our lack of normal rain May-September. The dry season starts in December and the amount of water in the rainy season is important for plants, water table, etc. Some fear a shortage of water during the dry season and possibly more grass fires if this rain doesn’t continue through November.
Seen while walking along the roads of Residential Roca Verde . . .
¡Pura Vida!
The Laverna Metalmark, Calephelis laverna (my gallery link) is almost identical to the Carolina Metalmark in the States, while this one is found from Costa Rica to Brazil.
¡Pura Vida!
Another favorite butterfly was seen in the cow pasture in September, the White Peacock (my gallery link). They are so different from the Banded Peacock, I sometimes wonder why they are both called peacocks. 🙂 But, “A rose by any other name . . .” I definitely don’t see as many of these as his “Banded” cousin, but I have photos of them from all over the country, literally coast to coast.
¡Pura Vida!
I snapped this vine flower with my cellphone while walking down a Roca Verde street. It was growing on the side of the street on the edge of someone’s property, possibly growing wild. iNaturalist AI tells me it is Brazilian Nightshade – Solanum seaforthianum (linked to a Wikipedia article). If you keep your eyes open and scanning around, there are “little treasures” to find almost anywhere you walk here. 🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Touch the leaves and they curl up! Sensitive Plant – Mimosa pudica. See more unusual things in nature in my gallery Leaves & Nature Things.
¡Pura Vida!
I grow two groups of Maraca or Shampoo Ginger (Zingiber zerumbet) (My gallery link). The ones on the west side of my house by the Higueron Tree usually start yellow and turn orange and at a different time of year than these in my “Jungle Garden” on the south side of my casita which usually stay yellow during their 3 months plus of blooming, with some hints of orange. But this year on a south side one has turned a deep red as shown in the feature photo above. I have been cutting the tall plants back to give more sun to ground plants and the more sun might be the reason, though I don’t know for sure. Tropical plants are just as interesting to watch and photograph as much of the wildlife that I usually focus on.
I first experienced this interesting tropical flower on a jungle trip to Mayan ruins in Guatemala in 2006 December – Guatemala where this plant grew right outside my jungle room at Chiminos Lodge. Tropical adventures always include tropical plants! 🙂
And two more photos showing the usual yellow and some orange ones . . .
Continue reading “A Deeper Red Than Usual”
This is a young male Rose-throated Becard (my gallery link) whose throat has not turned rose colored yet and iNat says that some in the rainforest never get the rosy-pink throat. The female is overall reddish brown as you can see in my above-linked gallery. This one landed in a neighbor’s tree for a minute or so, then flew off. I don’t see them very often. They are found from Southern Arizona & Texas south to Panama, so mostly Central American. Read more on eBird.
¡Pura Vida!