Trees around here
There’s another tree we see a lot in Potrero —melina— with bright green leaves and a small green fruit, quite fragrant. A local told us the cattle like to eat the fruit but people shouldn’t, if you do, you get a headache. I wasn’t able to confirm this claim but I did find out that melina, like teak, is a species introduced from Asia; it’s not indigenous to the area. So, what trees are native to Guanacaste? Surely the guanacaste tree, the national tree of Costa Rica, must be. I look it up and www.sabelotodo.org confirms it. Guanacaste, enterolobium cyclocarpum, is native from Mexico to north of Brazil. This wonderful tree dots the savannahs of Guanacaste, its perennially green foliage popping out against the dry grasses and its umbrella-like form providing shade to cattle, and people. Another great tree seen near beaches and along streets is the matapalo. Its large leaves provide excellent shade, but more impressively, its twisted series of trunks and vines gives this tree a magical, haunted look; it’s hard not to imagine elves, witches, and fantastical creatures. As its name (“killstree”) implies, this species germinates on a host tree and grows downward, slowly enveloping and destroying the original tree— a huge, fascinating parasite.
Friday, January 23, 2009
