El Yunque National Forest [Puerto Rico Tropical Field Trip]

 

Do any of you get the same level of elation that I do when you notice some of our favorite tropical indoor plants flourishing outside? 

In addition to the novelty of witnessing a plant that many of us consider being a "houseplant" thriving outdoors, it's intriguing to examine how their development patterns vary in a natural setting.

Background: I took my boys to Puerto Rico for a vacation. We were overjoyed to find that it is the only rainforest in the US National Forest Service and is home to El Yunque National Forest. 

Many "indoor plants" were also thriving as gorgeous landscaping plants in San Juan, the country's capital. (Along with our preferred FLFs!)

By the Sierra de Luquillo mountains on Puerto Rico's northeast coast sits El Yunque, a cool, mountainous tropical rainforest. It boasts a tropical climate all year long and amazing biodiversity.

San Juan is around 45 minutes to the north by car. Both regions have year-round tropical weather, which prevents freezing and permits a continuous growing season. 

House Plants In The Wild

Vines & Climber

It's fascinating to observe how cleverly so many vine and climber-type plants have developed to reach the sun. Regardless of the surface, they are working with, anything is possible if they have the drive to do it!

In the introduction, I mentioned how different plants develop in the wild. This is what I meant by that. A Golden Pothos (Epiprenum aureum) is shown below. The size of the leaves is astounding. Even split margins are common. The reserved house plant we thought we know is very different from this. 

Okay, I'm sure a lot of you will be as excited as I am to see a shingling-type creeper in the wild! 

Araceae's Aroid family includes the creeping vine known as a shingling plant. Numerous common houseplants, such as Anthurium, Monstera, and Philodendron, belong to the Araceae family. 

The "shingling" behavior of the foliage as it spreads flat against the growing surface, generally a tree, is how to shingle vines earn their name. 

The Rhaphidophora genus contains the majority of shingle plants. However, there is surprisingly little academic material available on Rhaphidophora. Although I am aware that not all Rhaphidophora are shingling plants, I am unaware of any species outside of the genus that exhibit a shingle growth pattern. 

I'm unable to determine whether these two are Rhaphidophora, but just take a look at how flat they are when pressed up against the tree trunks. If anyone has information, please post a comment below.

Update: You shall receive it when you ask. Rey X Perez, a local plant specialist, informed me in a remark that this is, in fact, the Puerto Rican native shingling vine Marcgravia Sinensis. 

Here is a common example. Philodendron climbing the trunk of a tree. Take a look at the aerial roots that it created to cling to the tree. 

Aerial roots of philodendrons extend above the soil and have two main functions. They support the plant when it climbs and give it a place to store excess water and nutrients.

Sincerely, yesterday I noticed the same philodendrons for sale in Trader Joe's!

Epiphytes

Epiphytes are plants that do not grow in soil but rather on another surface, such as a tree trunk, limb, or rock. Many common home plants, such as air plants, their relatives the bromeliads, staghorn ferns, most orchids, and some other ferns, are epiphytes. 

I was delighted to discover this substantial bromeliad sitting on the limb beneath. It appeared extremely wholesome!

Although they typically grow as epiphytes in the wild, some house plants, such as bird's nest ferns (Asplenium spp. ), are sold in soil for the nursery industry. Many bird's nest ferns were growing on various tree trunks and branches, as I noticed.

Terrestrial Tropicals

Back on the ground, there were a bunch of these gigantic elephant ear plants that were either Alocasia or Xanthosoma growing in dense clusters. Growing in the shadier understory seems to be preferred over those that were somewhat brighter and more open. 

And I was astonished to see Ficus elastica 'Burgundy', my favorite Burgundy Rubber Tree, planted in a sizable landscaping bed at our hotel. 

This image is making me feel bad because I've been meaning to move my poor burgundy rubber plant for a year.

Tropical Flowers

Tropical flowers are the most dazzling and opulent of all flowers. Nature is truly magnificent. 

The two Heliconia kinds are listed below. Heliconias are closely related to birds of paradise (Strelitzia) and bananas (Musa); in fact, until they were split into three separate families around 20 years ago, they all belonged to the same family.  

For obvious reasons, the stunning red and yellow one below is nicknamed a lobster claw. 

An upright heliconia blossom is shown below. I've always puzzled why they are classified under heliconia rather than strelitzia because they resemble birds of paradise so much, but hey, I'm not an expert on plant taxonomy. 

The jungle was home to this rich pink bloom. After some investigation, I'm 99% certain that it belongs to the Odontonema genus, a fire spike plant that is indigenous to Central America. Please leave a comment if you can positively identify it. 

Tropical Trees

Like bugs, trees also grow enormously in the tropics, and Puerto Rico had some spectacular examples of both the forest and the landscape. 

The Yagrumo tree (Cecropia peltata) below has enormous palmate (lobed) leaves, and when the sun shines on them, the undersides are actually a striking white-silver color.

People who live close to the jungle are aware to keep an eye out for them when a storm is approaching, according to our El Yunque ziplining guide. If they notice a lot of silver in the distance, they realize the wind is blowing fiercely and revealing the silver underbelly, so it is time to seek shelter. 

We were fortunate because the Flamboyan or Royal Poinciana trees (Delonix regia), with their magnificent flame-red flowers, were in full bloom. Huge and in bloom, these trees could be seen from our hotel below to the motorway and beyond. In Puerto Rico, Royal Poincianas are undoubtedly a famous tree. 

These plants, which are originally from India, grow beautifully in both wet and dry settings. They are most flamboyant on the drier south coast and thrive in arid climes. They flower in the spring and summer.

Some of the enormous ficus trees, like the one below at our hotel, were equally amazing. It's large, and the hotel enclosed it with a terrace. 

Below is a tree that resembles fiddle leaves and is brand-new to me! I initially mistook this for another type of fiddle leaf, but Puerto Rican resident and plant expert Rey X Perez informed me that this is Terminalia catappa, also known as the Beach Almond tree. 

If you ever find yourself thinking, "Is this tree an FLF or Beach Almond?" Since the fig family (Moraceae) is one of only around 5 plant families that produce milky sap, pulling off one of the leaves and inspecting it for the telltale milky sap would be one method to check (hey, it could happen).

Lastly, have a look at the lovely courtyard garden below. You can see why brightly colored homes are so common in tropical areas because they blend in beautifully with the vibrant flowers and vegetation that surround them. 

That concludes the botanical portion of our family vacation. I sincerely hope you enjoyed seeing some of our favorite tropical plants flourishing in Puerto Rico's jungle and urban setting. Observing how things develop in their natural habitat helps us better understand how they can develop to their full potential, in my opinion. 

Have you ever seen "indoor" plants in a greenhouse or even growing outside? What about seeing them in that setting most astonished you? - Post your comment below.