No. 84, November 2015 Wilson Botanical Garden Las Cruces Biological Station Apdo. 73-8257 San Vito, Coto Brus, COSTA RICA Who We Are

he Las Cruces Biological insects, and in particular moths and but- sleeping quarters, delicious meals, knowl- Station is one of three field terflies. edgeable and enthusiastic staff, and a well- Tstations owned and operated Las Cruces protects more than 200 maintained network of paths and trails. by the Organization for Tropical Studies hectares of primary forest (home to over The nearest town is San Vito, the (OTS) in Costa Rica. The station was ac- 2,000 native plant species) and ~150 addi- municipal capital of Coto Brus County. quired in 1973 and, along with the Wilson tional hectares that are in various stages of It was founded by Italian immigrants in Botanical Garden, offers natural history forest recovery. The reserve is surrounded the 1950’s and to this day they have a visitors and researchers alike an extraordi- by a mosaic of mixed-use agricultural strong presence in the community. There nary place to visit and conduct research. fields and forest patches, and it is this is even a Dante Alighieri Italian-Costa Far from the noise and bustle of the fragmented setting that makes Las Cruces Rican Community Center provides Italian country’s capital city San José, Las Cruces an ideal place to study the effects of forest language instruction. Indeed, Coto Brus is located in the remote southwestern fragmentation and isolation on animal and is the only county in Costa Rica where corner of the country between Corcovado plant communities. The landscape sur- Italian forms part of the elementary cur- National Park on the Osa Peninsula, and rounding Las Cruces is also ideally suited riculum! the enormous La Amistad International for research on biological corridors and We invite you and your family and Biosphere Reserve (472,000 hectares) that restoration ecology; key fields of research friends to come visit us for an afternoon, spans south-central Costa Rica and west- that are of ever increasing importance. an overnight stay or a week to see and ern Panama. In 1983, UNESCO declared Part of our mission at Las Cruces is to experience firsthand the splendid tropical Las Cruces and the Wilson Botanical continue to purchase land for reforestation diversity of the Las Cruces Biological Sta- Garden part of the Biosphere Reserve due and, in doing so, expand our protected ar- tion and Wilson Botanical Garden. to its incredible diversity and proximity to eas and connect some of the isolated forest La Amistad. fragments around the station. For further For more information please visit The Wilson Botanical Garden, founded information on this campaign please visit Las Cruces website at http://www.ots.cr/ in 1962 by Catherine and Robert Wilson, our website. lascruces or contact us directly by email: is arguably the most important botanical At approximately 1,200 meters eleva- [email protected] or telephone at: +506 garden in Central America and a “must tion (3,900 feet), the prevailing tempera- 2773-4004. Postal mail can be sent to: see” stop on the itineraries of plant lovers, tures at Las Cruces are cooler than one Estación Biológica Las Cruces/Jardín birders, and other natural history groups. might expect. Temperatures range from Botánico Wilson; Apdo. 73-8257; San It is famous for its worldwide collection of 21-26 °C (70-80 °F) during the day and Vito de Coto Brus, Puntarenas; Costa tropical plants that include palms, aroids, 15-21 °C (low 60’s) at night. Mean annual Rica. bromeliads, gingers, marantas, heliconias, rainfall is ~4,000 mm (157 inches)! The Reservations can also be made by and ferns. More than 3,000 exotic species dry season runs from January – March, contacting the OTS office in San José by of plants can be found in the 10-hectare (~ and the rainy season from May – Novem- email [email protected] or 25-acre) garden, including one of the larg- ber. Most visitors and researchers come by telephone +506 2524-0607. est collections of palms in the world. during the dry season. The North American OTS office is There is an incredible diversity of ani- The station is well known for its visitor- located at Duke University, telephone: +1 mals that inhabit the Las Cruces reserve, friendly amenities: comfortable private (919) 684-5774 or email: [email protected]. and the forest fragments in the immedi- ate surrounding area. The most recently updated bird list includes 410 species; The Organization for Tropical Studies is a nonprofit consortium of universities and close to half the number of birds found research institutions in the U.S., Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico, South Africa, and Australia. in all of Costa Rica. There are also over Founded in 1963, OTS is dedicated to providing leadership in education, research 100 species of mammals, of which 60 are and the responsible use of natural resources in the tropics. To this end, OTS offers bats. Some of the more commonly sighted graduate, undergraduate and professional education, facilitates research, participates in mammals include agoutis, white-faced conservation activities, conducts environmental education programs and maintains three capuchin monkeys, kinkajous, olingos, fields stations in Costa Rica: La Selva Biological Station in the Atlantic lowland rain and tayras. Reptiles and amphibians also thrive in this moist, cloud-laden habitat forest; Palo Verde Biological Station in the Pacific deciduous dry forest; and Las Cruces and there is an impressive diversity of Biological Station in the premontane cloud forest near the Panamanian border. 2 Amigos Newsletter

Director’s Keys and Notes AMIGOS NEWSLETTER No. 84, November 2015

3 Director’s Keys and Notes 4 What’s New at Las Cruces 6 Research at Las Cruces Biogenic Silica: What is It, and How Might It Be Useful in Showing Hydrological Connectivity? 8 Butterfly Abundance and Species Richness in Regeneration Plots

10 GIS Corner 11 Flora and Fauna Helping the Heliconias

Bird Songs! A drone taking off for a quick forest survey. Photo Jonathan Dandois. 12 Roberto Burle Marx and The Wilson Botanical Garden Zak Zahawi / [email protected] 13 De La Comunidad few Amigos issues back (May funded by the National Science Foundation, The Social Network, a Vital 2013) we printed a fantastic with some support from other agencies Component of Environmental Aaerial collage of the Las and private donors. As with all large- Education Cruces Biological Station as taken from an scale and long-term projects, however, it Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or drone. is costly to keep running and manage not 14 Our Donors The UAV was equipped with a simple only the upkeep and access to sites, but Of Gail, Harry, and Blogs! point and shoot camera and programmed also all data collection to evaluate how the to continuously take photographs as it project is doing. One major goal of the flew along a pre-programed route using its study is to evaluate the success of recovery built-in GPS to guide it. The images were Front Cover: The diatom (Luticol under different restoration strategies. This then stitched together to create a very nice sp.), which was collected during a assessment includes collecting data on tree collage of the station and the immediate storm event at a Las Cruces forest structural metrics such as canopy height, surrounding area. site (for details see full article on canopy closure, above-ground biomass This image though was actually just Biogenic Silica). Photo Sarah (an important proxy of how much Carbon part of a test flight. In reality what the Spaulding each plot has fixed), among others. On the University of Maryland researchers came ground it is somewhat tedious and slow and to do was fly these drones over the long- Back Cover: Part of the group skilled technicians are needed to collect the term restoration plots that Karen Holl of the Florida Bebidas company data. Accordingly, we decided to evaluate (University of California-Santa Cruz) and who participated in the volunteer a novel monitoring strategy using drones I established a decade ago in and around activities at Las Cruces in July and which promised to potentially reduce the Las Cruces. The restoration project, also August. Photo Rodolfo Quirós. cost of monitoring considerably (both known as “Proyecto Islas”, was established monetarily speaking as well as in terms of to evaluate the impact of different Editorial Committee: Alison time investment). restoration strategies on forest recovery. It Olivieri, Rodolfo Quirós, Emilce The results of this collaborative project is now in its 11th year and has been largely Ramírez, Ariadna Sánchez, Zak were quite striking. Using the images Zahawi. Amigos Newsletter 3

What’s New at Las Cruces? collected from the drones, and open source software and algorithms to process Rodolfo Quirós and Zak Zahawi / [email protected]; [email protected] them, we were able to create 3-D point clouds that represent the vegetation on the ground and interpret this information Corporate Volunteering at Las Cruces to derive remotely generated metrics for Over a few days in July and August a total of 75 collaborators forest structure. However, there remained from the Ciudad Neily section of the Florida Bebidas Company, an additional step. This technique, or dedicated a combined 450 hours of their time to work in the Botanical “Ecosynth” methodology, had to be Garden and in the forest. They cleaned up ditches and trails, removed tested against field-based measures to leaf litter to be used as natural fertilizer in the garden, relocated fallen determine if the results generated were trees branches and big leaves, and removed some of the exotic plants representative of what is found on the from the forest that are growing along the Rio Java trail. This contri- ground. The result? Ecosynth generated bution adds up to around 56 days of work time for our ground’s crew, similarly accurate values for almost all accordingly it represents a big help in our efforts to keep the garden measures! Although still in its infancy beautiful and safe. the methodology could, in the not so Volunteers at the garden are a great help, and also provide an distant future, be much more widely opportunity to share experiences. We are very thankful to those who applied. It would represent a significant choose to help us maintain our garden in good order. reduction in the cost of monitoring and also permit much more frequent evaluations of forest metrics. Moreover subtle measures that are typically difficult to collect in the field, such as phenology (i.e., leaf flush, flowering) or canopy roughness (how bumpy the surface of the canopy is) could be monitored with this technology. Needless to say, new technologies don’t come without their challenges. For example, learning how to fly these drones is not that simple – and only a few in-flight accidents could rapidly ramp up your costs! Processing the imagery is also challenging and requires skills in use of the open-software programs to generate the data. Nonetheless the methodology is highly promising and the paper that we recently published in Biological Conservation and accessible here: (http://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/pii/s0006320715001421) was just given the Atlas award – a prize given once a month to the most promising paper published under Elsevier – a publishing house with several hundred journals to its name! I am sure you won’t Volunteers at work. Photo Rodolfo Quirós. be seeing the last of these little drones at Las Cruces! All the best, Zak 4 Amigos Newsletter

The Wailing Wall! The OTS Plant Soon after the previous Ami- Database gos newsletter went to press, we With the supplemental grant from the held the official inauguration of NSF Collections to Support Biological the first new wall to grace the bo- Research Program (CSBR) that was re- tanical grounds in decades. This ceived in 2014, we incorporated the seed wall starts at the main entrance collections of La Selva and Las Cruces and runs along the main driveway into the OTS plant database (www.ots.cr/ into the grounds of the Wilson Bo- plantdatabase). The database, which was tanical Garden, providing visitors developed with collaboration from the with an immediate and striking central office IT department, now houses visual impression upon entering. more than 15,000 herbarium scans from No cement was used in the con- all three OTS herbaria, thousands of live struction, but a careful and me- plant images, the seed collections, and thodical placement of stones. This other datasets in the near future will also was a major endeavor undertaken be added (e.g., pollen). It was renamed by the gardeners who dubbed the OTS Plant Database (replacing the it the ‘wailing wall’ when they Digital Herbaria) to reflect its greatly were working on it as the project expanded role and future potential. This never seemed to end! The wall grant was concluded in May. extends for about 150 m to a stone The new Las Cruces wall. staircase that leads to the Wilson Photo Zak Zahawi. House. We may expand the wall to the main 3-way intersection sometime in the future… but only once the gardeners recover!

Wilson House In the previous Amigos newsletter I mentioned that the Wilson house was about to go a much needed overhaul. Given the wooden building’s 53-year history, this was a considerable undertaking. The task was leased out to a local construction group and they spent the better part of April and May replacing damaged beams and structural supports throughout the building. It is hard to describe the volume of wood that was replaced but easily dozens of truckloads of damaged wood (mostly due to termite infestation) were removed. Although a second repair phase is set for this September-October, most of the major repairs have been completed and the building is now structurally sound. The overhaul was programmed in two phases so as not to interfere with the peak summer season at Las Cruces where the building sees a large amount of usage. We took ad- vantage of the overhaul to improve the spatial distribution of rooms and storage space, and remove the last remaining bathroom in the building The Wilson house on the operating table. which had caused some water damage over the years due to leakage. It Photo Zak Zahawi. was no longer needed given the adjacent battery of bathrooms that was built a few years back with NSF funds alongside the Wilson house that serves each floor separately.

Amigos Newsletter 5 Research at Las Cruces

Biogenic Silica: What is It, and How Might It Be Useful in Showing Hydrological Connectivity?

Thomas C. Peterson, Ph.D. (hydrologist, retired; [email protected])

orsetails (Equisetum) are Costaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Cyatheaceae, use as biological tracers. Archaeologists fascinating plants. They Cyperaceae, Heliconiaceae, have used phytoliths as bioindicators Hare called “living fossils” Hymenophyllaceae, Marantaceae, of genus- and species-level plant life to because they are the only living genus in Moraceae, Orchidaceae, Poaceae, gain insight into the past environment Equisetaceae and have been around for Urticaceae, and Zingiberaceae. Not only at excavations. Hydrologists (with the over 100 million years. They are relatively do these plant families have high phytolith help of biologists skilled in phytolith common in many different environments. production, genus-specific phytolith and diatom microscopy) should be able If you have handled them, you have noted morphology is common (http://wikipedia. to use both phytoliths and diatoms as the abrasive feel of the stem. The dried org). Evidently, Equisetaceae has not been biological tracers of both water source and stems have been used to polish materials- recorded at LCBS. This is not surprising hydrological connectivity during rainfall- -sort of like #400 super-fine sandpaper. since Equisetum prefers wet areas and is runoff events. This is possible because The rough feel is the result of silica shade intolerant. It is also heavily grazed, many phytoliths and diatoms are species- bodies because Equisetum and many other which probably is not good for cattle teeth specific to various zones, e.g. aquatic, plants (including algae) are biosilicifiers (Hauke, R.L., Rev. Biol. Trop. 15:269, riparian, and upland (terrestrial) zones. that concentrate and deposit amorphous 1969). Equisetum x schaffneri (a hybrid of Note that both diatoms and phytoliths hydrated silica. E. bogotense and E. giganteum) has been are small. Most range between 2 and Chemical weathering of parent collected a short distance west of San 200 microns (one micron is equal to 10-6 material releases silicic acid (H4SiO4) Vito, E. giganteum has also been collected meter). to the aqueous phase. The dissolved northeast of Agua Buena. If you note the A test-of-concept experiment was silica (DSi) mimics water in biota. Thus, presence of phytoliths with a specific completed at LCBS. Two sampling sites DSi moves with water throughout the shape, you can reasonably assume that it were chosen: (1) an abandoned pasture site vascular system in plants, and it is also came from a specific plant genus. adjacent to the Rio Java in the southwest incorporated into diatoms (a common The same concept applies to diatom corner of LCBS near the terminus of the phytoplankton). In plants, it is deposited frustules. The morphology of the frustule Ridge Trail, and (2) a primary forest site in many locations as small silica bodies is generally genus-specific and often adjacent to Cerro Creek, just upstream called phytoliths (“plant rocks”). In species-specific. Most people associate of the Loop Trail. Soil and plant samples diatoms, the silica is deposited as the diatoms with the ocean; however, they were collected to determine presence of cell wall, and the silica bodies are called are present in most places that are wet, phytoliths and diatoms associated with frustules. Additional information on the whether that is a fluvial, riparian, or each site. Samples of overland flow during role of silica in plants can be found in an adjacent terrestrial environment. rainstorms were collected with specially Epstein, E., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 91:11, Some diatoms are aquatic and some are constructed sample devices (OFDs) placed 1994. aerophilic. Diatomists generally focus at various distances away from the streams Horsetails are familiar to most people on the aquatic phase; however, diatoms at each site. Stream samples were also even if they are unaware of the presence can be found in soils, herbaceous plants, collected during storms. of phytoliths. However, phytoliths are mosses, and on tropical tree bark. They A review of the experimental results fairly common in a variety of plants. might also be present in bromeliad indicates that phytoliths and diatoms Plant families, with high phytolith phytotelmata. Diatoms are often used as have potential as biotracers. However, a production, present at Las Cruces bioindicators of water quality in Europe. big constraint to future studies would be Biological Station (LCBS) (based on a Phytoliths and diatom frustules do finding biologists skilled in phytolith and/ search of the Digital Flora of Las Cruces not readily dissolve when the organism or diatom microscopy. Nonetheless, it was database) include: Annonaceae, Arecaceae, dies and decomposes. Owing to the a fun and informative experiment. Some Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Bromeliaceae, genus-specific nature and longevity of of the results are shown in the following Chrysobalanaceae, Commelinaceae, these silica bodies, they have potential figures.

6 Amigos Newsletter Figure 1 - The diatom Orthoseira was collected in an OFD in a riparian area at the forest site. It is commonly found in soil, moss, and on tropical tree bark.

Figure 2 - The diatom Hantzschia Figure 3 - The diatom Luticol was amphioxys was collected in an OFD at collected during a storm event at the pasture site. It is typically found in the forest site. It is aerophilic and is soil in terrestrial areas. found in soil and moss.

Figure 4 - A phytolith from Figure 5 - A phytolith from Figure 6 - A phytolith from Piper friedrichsthalli was Axonopus scoparius (also Calathea crotalifera was obtained from a plant found known as Paspalum scoparium) collected from a plant in the in the terrestrial area at the was collected in an OFD in the terrestrial area at the forest pasture site. The distinct riparian area at the pasture site. site. The phytolith has a distinct elongate morphotype is shown The phytolith has the distinct spheroid morphology and is at 400X magnification. bilobate or dumbbell morphotype shown at 400X magnification. of Poaceae. The common name The plant is commonly called for this plant is imperial grass. rattlesnake plant. Magnification is 400X. Amigos Newsletter 7 Butterfly Abundance and Species Richness in Regeneration Plots Adrea Gonzalez-Karlsson and Jeromayln Santos/ [email protected]

eforestation is an ongoing problem in Latin America and Dhas decimated many types of plant and animal life. At Las Cruces there are a number of multiyear projects evaluating the efficacy of different types of forest restoration. The Islas Project is a multiyear experiment testing forest regeneration strategies under different planting schemes. Island plantings, where tree seedlings are planted in patches, is considered to be the least costly strategy whereas plantation planting is the more traditional strategy of planting tree seedlings in rows across an entire area. But we want to see the forest through the trees as there are many animals and plants in the forest in addition to the trees. A forest without butterflies is one that can be considered to have lost an important long distance pollinator and so this summer we measured the abundance and diversity of butterflies in three sites of the Islas Project that were former pasture land at each of four treatments: an island plot, a plantation plot, a control plot where no seedlings were planted, and a reference forest. We hung traps baited with fermented pineapple and walked 40 meter transects to measure butterfly diversity to the species level and collect data on wing dimensions.

Collecting data on butterflies in the field. Photo Adrea Gonzalez-Karlsson 8 Amigos Newsletter We recorded many nymphalid butterflies including five subfamilies, 18 genera, and 43 species. For each individual we trapped, we recorded the species, as well as their color and size. Plot types were different in composition across taxonomic levels. Island plots were the most diverse, followed by plantation, forest, and control. In addition to taxonomic diversity per Tigridia acesta, a colorful se, butterfly size and coloration varied species found in the between sites, following similar patterns island plots. Photo Adrea to taxonomic diversity. Higher diversity Gonzalez-Karlsson in the island plots may be the result of a more heterogenous habitat found there with some components of the plantation habitat but also some more open areas that are also found in the control treatment. Open areas are typically favored by butterflies although they like access to a mix of habitats. The relationship between these measurements means that there is great potential for further studies of Lepidoptera across landscapes by students, and citizen scientists since recording color pattern and size by eye is easily done. This is important going forward since butterflies are an important part of the ecosystem and we are damaging iconic species. The blue morpho was found only in forests plots and so there is much work left to be done to regenerate tropical forests and protect these beautiful insects. This work was part of the NAPIRE program, a research experience and cultural exchange program designed for Native American and Pacific Islander undergraduate students. This experience is supported by The Louis Stokes Alliances Pouring pineapple juice onto a plate for Minority Participation Program to attract butterflies. Photo Adrea (LSAMP, National Science Foundation). Gonzalez-Karlsson Amigos Newsletter 9 GIS Corner

Yerlyn Blanco [email protected] ello Amigos! As I had mentioned in the previous HAmigos newsletter, we have been working on a new map of all the health clinics in the county that should be very useful for the community at large but also for Las Cruces. Surprisingly, the county of Coto Brus did not have a map of the distribution of national health care clinics (known as EBAIS) and the so-called ‘visiting houses’, which are regularly frequented by health care specialists who oversee the medical issues of people in distinct communities, some of which are quite remote. Given the need for such a map, we started fieldwork in January of this year to visit each one of the 52 health centers in the county and georeference them all. Of these centers, seven are health care centers and 45 are visiting houses. Once we have completed the fieldwork we will use the cartographic map of Costa Rica to generate the map and we are almost done with the project – a near complete version of this map is printed alongside this article. This map will be handed over to the Costa Rican Social Security service of the region, but we will also keep a copy of the file at Las Cruces where it can be made available to researchers, OTS staff, and even students such as those that participate in the Global Health semester program. In 10 maps that will be used in the technical fact Global Health students should find this profile document to be submitted at the particularly useful as they are frequently end of the year in order to officialize developing research projects with the health the corridor. The maps contain baseline care clinics in our county. As always, I information on various characteristics of the invite you to inquire about the information corridor, including maps on the corridor’s housed in our cartographic database; you geomorphology, soils, hydrology, political can find all manner of information on Coto regions, and other themes. We hope that the Brus county and Costa Rica in general. corridor will finally be officialized at the end This project aside, I am also participating of this year as it will be an important step in actively as a member of the local committee helping to promote the conservation of the for the Amistosa Biological Corridor. In region’s biodiversity. this capacity, I have generated more than

10 Amigos Newsletter

Flora and Fauna

Helping the Heliconias removed from the base of the plants so that David Janas; [email protected] everything has a very clean appearance. However, Heliconia require lots of ne of the most nutrition to fuel their rapid growth iconic groups and since we are working to eliminate of ornamental O our use of chemical fertilizers and plants in the tropics is the pesticides, the planting beds will have genus Heliconia. These to be heavily mulched in order to keep herbaceous members of the collection (now over 100 species the Zingiberales are often and varieties!) looking its best. standing tall, with brightly Next time you visit the Garden, colored inflorescences, be sure to stop into the Zingiberales trying to flag down the Section and check out our collection attention of passing of one of the most beautiful groups hummingbirds. While we of plants in the world, the Heliconia. may not be the intended Which one is my favorite? There target of their display, are many to choose from, but right Heliconia have found now I think Heliconia mathiasiae is themselves spread all A Heliconia mathiasiae inflorescence. Photo David Janas my favorite. It is about head-high across the world’s tropics problems facing the traditional Heliconia in the sun (taller in the shade) with while offering humans little more than Garden here at JBW – after so many years many closely-spaced, thin stems bearing aesthetics. With around 220 species spread in place, if there was an original design for horizontal leaves so it makes a useful throughout Central and South America and the garden it was no longer in evidence! screen in the landscape. It grows well a few Pacific Islands, there is considerable We were left with a field of randomly here whether in sun or shade or loam or diversity within Heliconia though there dispersed Heliconia, some beautiful and clay, and they rapidly form a tight clump are some basic themes that set them apart healthy and others stressed and languishing. without any deep-diving long-distance- from other, similar plants. They are all Along with the new design, which runner rhizomes, which makes it easy to stalked erect herbs, ranging from below the features an enclosing wall of those (mostly dig up and move around (and give away!). knees to patches larger than a house, with native) species that are particularly The inflorescence isn’t overly gaudy but each stalk bearing a single inflorescence abundant in the Garden and two short loop the bracts are clean, bright red with showy consisting of a variety of colorful bracts trails that examine the rainbow palette of yellow flowers that the hummingbirds and contrasting flowers. The exact colors both the erect and pendant inflorescence love to visit and are borne in abundance and proportions of these bracts and flowers types, we are introducing new cultural throughout most (all) of the year. As a separate the different species and traverse practices as well. Traditionally, the bonus, it is native to Costa Rica. Even the the entire color spectrum with the exception Heliconia collection has been maintained name is fun to say once you get the hang of of the rarest color in plants: true blue, in a more formal way with grass and debris it: HEL-i-co-nia mah-thia-see-EYE! which Heliconia reserve for their fruit. With showy colors and a propensity for rapid growth, Heliconia are common garden features throughout the world Bird Songs Zak Zahawi; [email protected] tropics and the Wilson Botanical Garden new entry in the species list database for Las Cruces has been added. is no exception. Robert Wilson amassed a Local recordings of 134 bird songs have been uploaded to the website diverse collection of species – native and and interested parties can view the listing and click on each link to hear exotic, many of which are still living in the A the call of approximately one-third of the bird species found in our area. These Garden today. One of the distinguishing recordings were done a number of years ago but were misplaced and only recently features of a Heliconia is its “walking” ‘rediscovered’! Should others have calls they would like to add to this list, please rhizome. Some years after planting, a feel free to contact us! All species lists, which include birds, trees, mammals, carefully-sited Heliconia may be several lichens, herpetofauna, dragonflies, and orchid genera, can be downloaded here: times the original size and also several www.ots.cr/lc-species. meters away! This was one of the main Amigos Newsletter 11 Roberto Burle Marx and The Wilson Botanical Garden Holly Shimizu; [email protected] Las Cruces Advisory Committee Member

oberto Burle Marx (1909-1994) truly “see” the plants in front of them and to the design with the terraces, the shapes was a colorful character, a thereby make connections to the place and of planting areas, and the colors, textures Rpassionate plantsman, and a its flora. During his life Burle Marx was a and patterns of the bromeliads, and it all world famous landscape architect, artist, tireless advocate for the protection of South creates a beautiful rhythm and movement. musician, environmentalist, designer, and American rain forests. According to Luis Two of Burle Marx’s signature plants are painter. Using plants as his medium, his Diego Gomez’s article in Amigos Newsletter still thriving in the Bromeliad Hill Garden, designs had rhythm, color, surprises, and No. 41, September 1994, Burle Marx wrote they are the ruffled fan palm Licuala( emotion, done with the intention of leaving a letter to Robert Wilson saying, “Why use grandis) which is planted next to the imperial the person feeling elevated. He wanted native plants? Because destruction of the bromeliad (Vriesea imperialis). From that to harmonize the ecological medium and tropical flora is so rampant….governments central core the gardens decrease in formality looked to local environments for sources prefer fast profit than to conserve. Why as they span outward and closer to the forest. of inspiration. Burle Marx believed that import English rosebushes when we have so Las Cruces has some records of plants the beauty of nature can be transposed to many superior plants?” collected by Burle Marx in July 1964 compositions in landscapes. Often referred The significance of Roberto Burle Marx’s when he was in San José and visited to as the father of modern landscape help in the design and layout of the Wilson the Lankaster Gardens in Cartago. In architecture his work continues to inspire Botanical Garden cannot be overstated. 1965, Burle Marx and Wilson went on an people around the world. Roberto Burle Marx met Wilson in 1954 and extensive plant collecting trip together in Most of his life was lived in Rio de they went on to become close friends due to Bahia, Brazil and then, in 1977, Burle Marx Janeiro, Brazil, although he traveled their shared love for tropical plants. When came to Costa Rica to give a lecture and extensively to collect plants (which he Burle Marx visited Las Cruces in 1962 he was able to visit the Wilsons. In 1988, the propagated for his gardens and nursery) influenced the design of the gardens and well-known botanist, Dr. Luiz Emygdio de and for his commissions. He designed over persuaded Wilson to have formal gardens that Mello Filho (who collaborated with and 3,000 works in more than twenty countries blended with the wildness of the existing site. influenced Burle Marx) visited the Wilsons during his 62 year career and considered When you consider the design of Bromeliad at Las Cruces. Yet, there are still many plants to be his vocabulary. Burle Marx Hill with swaths of bromeliads surrounding details, gaps and pieces of information that donated his home, Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, the Wilson house, there is a certain formality need to be filled in and gathered. Since to the Brazilian government most of the Garden records were in 1985. The garden contains lost in the Las Cruces 1994 fire, over 3,500 species of plants there is a need to track down and people still come from some of this information that was all over the world to see his lost. Inevitably, gardens change gardens and the incredible over time, plants grow or die out work of this amazing designer. and gardens must be refurbished. As evidence of his active role Nonetheless, Bromeliad Hill is with plants, there are sixteen being restored with the intention plants that bear his name of having it represent the original including: Heliconia hirsuta design done by Burle Marx as ‘Burle Marx,’ Calathea burle- closely as possible. How helpful it marxii, and Philodendron would be if we could track down `Burle Marx’. He believed that a sketch or a design that Burle gardens should not only be Marx prepared for the Garden, or beautiful but should provide his plant lists for the gardens and the chance for people to feel Bromeliad hill on a sunny day. In the left center of the image collections, or thoughts on design one with nature. One of his is the Licuala grandis and to the right of it are two Vriesea intent… our work will have to goals was to get people to imperialis plants. Photo Zak Zahawi. continue!

12 Amigos Newsletter De la Comunidad

The Social Network, a Vital Component of Environmental Education Carla Azofeifa / [email protected] ast June was cause to celebrate, reflect, and take stock of the Lglobal environmental situation. The Month of the Environment could not pass by without the Program for Outreach and Environmental Education at Las Cruces (PEEA-LC) putting together a celebration, which took place on 29 June. This event, called “Educating Ourselves Environmentally” was done in joint collaboration with the Environmental Education course that forms part of the Ecological Tourism degree at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), Golfito, and the San Vito Bird Club (SVBC). Pariticipants in the Educating Ourselves Environmentally More than 90 people participated in the event held at the Wilson Botanical Garden. activity, among them boys and girls from the Federico Gutiérrez Brawn school, the Copal de Concepción school, and Comunidad Encuentro (a locally based drug rehabilitation center for youths from the city). The activity lasted all morning and part of the afternoon and was held at the Wilson Botanical Garden. The intention was to create an interactive learning- teaching space that revolved around themes such as: biodiversity, energy, climate change, water, contamination, and other topics, all delivered through educational activities. The sessions were designed by the students from the UCR whereby each school group or participating high-school would engage in a workshop for around 30-40 minutes. For the University students, Students from the University of Costa Rica’s this event represented a chance to put Ecological Tourism program in Golfito. into action what they had learned about environmental education by designing, place in the area such as the “Detectivos organization of the event. Once again, planning, and executing an actual activity de Pájaros” program run by the SVBC. environmental education underscores the with participants from local schools and Finally, for PEEA-LC this alliance need for us to work together as everything the community. For the SVBC, and the helped strengthen the network between is interconnected. Accordingly, to better participating schools, the event served to OTS, neighboring institutions, and local understand and conserve the ecosystems of complement other activities that have taken groups who actively participated in the our planet, we need social networks. Amigos Newsletter 13 Our Donors

Of Gail, Harry, and Blogs! Alison Olivieri / [email protected]

Gail and Harry Hull in Cerro Punta, Rio Java Trail Mandalagraph by Chiriqui, Panama Harry Hull III.

any of you will fondly seasonally teeming with Blue-winged Teal account will not be overwhelmed. remember Gail Hull who and sometimes the elusive Masked Duck Speaking of Gail, there’s Harry! He Mbreathed life into Robert even shows up, creating a stir among local has a blog of his own, albeit of a vastly Wilson’s original “Amigos Letter” in 1989 birders. different sort. Also a photographer, Harry with intriguing articles and graphics about Now Gail has started a blog, called sees shapes and images the rest of us the goings-on at the Wilson Garden. She “Foto Diarist, Photography and Musings don’t -- he manipulates his photos to worked here for many years and, as some about Nature & People” where she weaves create something entirely different than of you know, she lives a mere 6-minute stories around her captivating photos. the original picture. Often, his subject drive north of the Garden, at a beautiful Recent topics have been caterpillars, Gray- is the natural world but sometimes he is private nature reserve called Finca Cantaros headed Tanagers, the Coto Brus Regional taken by the work of man. Recently he has (fincacantaros.com), with her husband Health Director Pablo Ortiz and, of course, added videos, starting and ending with a Harry. Gail’s life here in Costa Rica is her first love: plants. We think you, our still photograph, and featuring interesting ineluctably bound up in Finca Cantaros, a Amigos, will delight in this blog. You can music. Harry’s blog can be found at: property that had a lake, a small house and find it easily by entering fotodiarist.com mandalagraphs.com and, again, you can not much more when she bought it in 1994. into your browser and you can sign up to sign up to receive regular Mandalagraphs It is now a glorious park, full of birds and “follow” Foto Diarist by entering your as described above. other animals, forest paths, flower gardens, email into the rectangular box in the lower Now that you have been properly archeological artifacts and several ranchos right-hand corner of the home screen, introduced to Gail and Harry, neighbors and where a visitor can meditate, read a book thereby receiving each publication. Gail Amigos, why don’t you write and tell us or draw, surrounded by nature. The lake is is judicious with her essays – your email about YOU? Our mutual interest in the Las

14 Amigos Newsletter As always a big THANK YOU to you all! Las Cruces donors through August 2015

Annual Fund Supporters Marlene R. Gleason Alvaro Chaves Nuñez Mary Goodman Anne & Paul R. Ehrlich Mary & Dick Smythe Audrey Fielding Maureen & Phillip Caudill Barbara & Ellis Burkhardt Muriel Kolb Ben & Ruth Hammett Pamela A. Maher Beverly Denney & Ronald Tipton Paola Barriga Bill Neindorff Philip Paros Carol & Alex Stepick Philip & Carolyn Auger Carolyn Shelton Rebecca & Scott Lehmann Charles Alexander Rebecca Papendick & Jay M. Savage David Schubert Roberth Olman Elinor S. Benes Ruth & Stephen Russell Evelyne & David Lennette Steven John Baer Friedrich Barth Thomas Peterson Gail & John Richardson Werner Mueller Aristolochia from an article in the Foto Diarist blog. Photo by Gail Hull. Gerald Reed Gretchen Dowling Endowment Gretchen C. Daily & Gideon Yoffe Ruth & Ben Hammett Cruces Station and the Wilson Botanical Hazel Puckett San Vito Bird Club Garden connects us as surely as if we lived Heidi Nitze next door. We would like to hear from you Helen & Thomas Merigan Enviromental Education and about you: what creative ideas and Henry A. Hespenheide III Helen LeVasseur & Greg Homer activities keep you busy? Hiram Munger Grupo Educacion Ambiental de Sabalito Las Cruces is a small place in the global Honora & James Murphy Universidad de Costa Rica scheme of things; those of us who live here Joanne & David Auth count ourselves among the very lucky. Joseph Heinz Horiculturist We look forward to your visits and your Judith Harackiewics Alison & Michael Olivieri continued support enabling us to welcome Julie Jones Jean & Fred Schroeder natural history visitors, college students, Larry C. Lutz Judy & Dick Richardson international researchers, photography Julie Girard & Dave Woolley clubs, birding groups, plant associations, Laura Aldrich-Wolfe and now cycling maniacs who zoom out Lawrence A. Wilson Mary Goodman the main entrance early in the morning Lisa Shapiro & Michael W. Steinberg with their bus behind them! Please use Lisa Wagner & Tim Spira Library the enclosed donation form to make a Lynn & Neville Ostrick Julie A. Gibson contribution to our Annual Fund or to the Lynn G. Chiapella Director’s Land Acquisition Campaign. As Marcia & Bruce Bonta Land Acquisition ever, thanks to you from us. Margaret & Fred Sibley Esther & David McLaughlin Marie Bernt Hiram Munger Marion Belt Amigos Newsletter 15 Las Cruces Biological Station & Wilson Botanical Garden Apdo 73-8257 San Vito, Coto Brus, Costa Rica.

16 Amigos Newsletter Here is my donation to support Las Cruces I (We) want to help with a gift of Name: $50 $1,000 $100 $5,000 Address: $250 $10,000 $500 Other City/State/Zip: I (We) would also like to contribute to the LAND E-mail: Phone: Campaign with a gift of Payment information $100 $5,000 Check enclosed Charge my VISA MASTERCARD $250 $10,000 cash $______$500 Other $1,000

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