Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It has 212 km of Caribbean Sea coastline and 1,016 on the North Pacific Ocean.
Central America is a region of the Americas. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south. Central America consists of seven countries: El Salvador, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. The combined population is estimated at 44.53 million (2016).
A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level, formally described in the International Cloud Atlas (2017) as silvagenitus. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they are also referred to as mossy forests. Mossy forests usually develop on the saddles of mountains, where moisture introduced by settling clouds is more effectively retained.
Monteverde, whose official name is Monte Verde, is a district of the Puntarenas canton, in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. it is located in the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain range. Roughly a four-hour drive from the Central Valley, Monteverde is one of the country's major ecotourism destinations. The area is host to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and several other natural attractions, which draw considerable numbers of tourists and naturalists.
The Wildlife of Costa Rica comprises all naturally occurring animals, fungi and plants that reside in this Central American country. Costa Rica supports an enormous variety of wildlife, due in large part to its geographic position between the North and South American continents, its neotropical climate, and its wide variety of habitats. Costa Rica is home to more than 500,000 species, which represents nearly 5% of the total species estimated worldwide, making Costa Rica one of the 20 countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. Of these 500,000 species, a little more than 300,000 are insects.
Ulmus mexicana(Liebm.) Planch., the Mexican elm, is a large tree endemic to Mexico and Central America. It is most commonly found in cloud forest and the higher elevations (800–2200 m) of tropical rain forest with precipitation levels of 2–4 m per year, ranging from San Luis Potosi south to Chiapas in Mexico, and from Guatemala to Panama beyond. The tree was first described botanically in 1873.
Dice's cottontail is a species of cottontail rabbit in the family Leporidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama, in páramo and cloud forest habitats.
Povedadaphne is a genus of plants in the family Lauraceae, with a single species, Povedadaphne quadriporata. They are evergreen "lauroid" trees belonging to the tropical laurel forest habitat, a type of cloud forest in Costa Rica, in Central America.
Utricularia jamesoniana is a small perennial epiphyte carnivorous plant in the family Lentibulariaceae. It is native to Central America, the Antilles, and northern and western South America. Specifically, it can be found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela and on the islands of Guadeloupe, Hispaniola, Dominica, and Martinique. The species was originally published and described by Daniel Oliver in 1860. Its habitat is reported as being mossy tree trunks in montane cloud forests or lowland rain forests at altitudes from sea level to 2,500 m (8,202 ft). It flowers year-round.
Utricularia praetermissa is a medium-sized epiphyte or terrestrial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. praetermissa is endemic to Central America, where it is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama. It was originally published and described by Peter Taylor in 1977. It grows on wet trees and banks in cloud forests at altitudes from 1,000 m (3,281 ft) to 2,800 m (9,186 ft). It flowers between July and October.
Meliosma vernicosa is a tropical tree in the family Sabiaceae. It is a canopy tree of the cloud forest that reaches 20 to 25 meters tall. It prefers elevations of 1500 to 1700 meters. It is found in Costa Rica.
Malvaviscus palmanus is an understory tree of the Costa Rican cloud forest.
Erythroxylum macrophyllum is a tropical tree in the family Erythroxylaceae. It is found in Costa Rica. It grows at altitudes of 1200–1400 m. It is a small tree of the understory reaching 2 to 6 meters. The leaves are alternate and are aligned in a plane. Small white flowers are borne March through June; they are followed by fruit that persist until September and are red when ripe.
Tabernaemontana longipes is a tropical tree found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica. Its unusually shaped pods inspired the common name Dutchman's shoes. Its oval leaves are about 13 cm long and glabrous. The flowers are white.
Heliocarpus americanus is a tropical tree native to Central America, and native throughout Mexico. It is sometimes called majaguillo or majagua. It is found in montane forest in Costa Rica and Panama at altitudes of 1,300–1,500 metres (4,300–4,900 ft). It bears pinkish-brown flowers in December and January.
Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig, golden fig, or higuerón, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama. The specific epithet aurea was applied by English botanist Thomas Nuttall who described the species in 1846.
Gamanthera is a flowering plant genus in the family Lauraceae, with a single species endemic of Central America. These trees have a resilient wood, used as timber.
Desarrollo Forestal Montreal S.A. is a nature reserve and cloud forest adjacent to Braulio Carrillo National Park in the central area of Costa Rica, about 30 miles (48 km) north of San José. The area is located between 1600–1800 meters (5,249–5,905 ft.) above sea level and extends throughout the mountain range.
Lecythis ampla is a species of woody plant in the family Lecythidaceae, which also includes the Brazil nut. Common names include coco, olla de mono, jicaro and salero. It is found in Central and South America. It has been considered an endangered species in Costa Rica.
Weinmannia pinnata, commonly known as the bastard briziletto, is a species of tree in the family Cunoniaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, South America and the West Indies. It typically grows in wet habitats at high altitudes, and is one of the species found in dwarf forests perpetually wreathed in clouds.
