Its not overly easy to find epipyhte-related resources online so I would like to share a couple of goodies that I've come across lately:
Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Ecología del Dosel
With the help of google, the name of this Chilean lab can be translated to "Canopy Biodiversity and Ecology Laboratory". A past student of this lab at Universidad Austral de Chile wrote to the NZ Epiphyte Network to share their awesome website with us. If you use Google Chrome then it should automatically translate the page for you. Here is a taster of their stunning photos:
Translated caption: "View of a Ulmo ( E. cordifolia ) from the canopy. Coastal forests of Chiloé" Photo: Canopy Biodiversity and Ecology Laboratory
This group provides us with arguments on why we should conserve nature, information about Chilean forests and profiles of some canopy flora species.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Located in Florida, the Marie Selby Gardens state on their website that: "The Gardens’ mission is to provide an oasis of inspiration and tranquillity, while furthering the understanding and appreciation of plants, especially epiphytes. Selby Gardens is perhaps best known for its living collection of more than 6,000 orchids, but it is also an established authority on other epiphytes including bromeliads, gesneriads, and other plants."
One of their pages provides an interesting discussion on "What is an epiphyte?", describing the different classes of symbiosis. My favourite line is: "Life itself resists the obscurity of our nomenclature and unsettles us by its diversity". I often feel that our lifeform categories really don't work for diversity and plasticity of our canopy flora!
One of their pages provides an interesting discussion on "What is an epiphyte?", describing the different classes of symbiosis. My favourite line is: "Life itself resists the obscurity of our nomenclature and unsettles us by its diversity". I often feel that our lifeform categories really don't work for diversity and plasticity of our canopy flora!
Canopy in the clouds
Do you fancy an escape from your office? How about an adventure to a rainforest canopy in Monteverde Costa Rica?! This awesome website allows you to get a really good feel for life in the canopy with amazing 360 views and lots of interesting stories... and you don't even need to worry about looking down.
Canopy in the Clouds is "the next generation of environmental outreach materials" and is really worth a visit.
Canopy in the Clouds is "the next generation of environmental outreach materials" and is really worth a visit.
Screenshot of Canopy in the Clouds - visit the rainforest and climb a tree.... without leaving your computer.
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