Plantlife

Thanks to the diversity of the eco-systems found in Costa Rica, the plant life is amazing! Scientists have tagged some 9,000 varieties of vascular plants (plants that have specialized tissues for conducting water) throughout the country, including about 900 species of trees.

What you see will largely depend on where in the country you might be. For example, in the dry forests such as those in Santa Rosa National Park, you'll find amazing flowering trees like the jacaranda, corteza, or “flame of the forest.” On the other hand, the plants in the cloud forests, like Monteverde, look almost pre-Jurassic and provide a rather eerie feeling for visitors.

The forests are also full of hundreds of species of epiphytes, plants which live on trees in order to reach the sunlight. The epiphytes feed off water, dust, and nutrients that gather around their roots.

Unbeknownst to many, Costa Rica is actually the orchid capital of the world, with 1,500 species of orchids found throughout the country, including many which are epiphytes.