Lankester Botanical Gardens Costa Rica

Orchids are surprisingly difficult to see in the wild. Even with a qualified guide you'd be lucky to spot a dozen during a full day in the forest. The majority are epiphytic, growing high in the canopy on trunks, branches or in crotches out of sight. Additionally, many are rather mundane until they flower, and might only flower for a day or two a year. The same is true for many of the other interesting epiphytes in Costa Rica. Fortunately Lankester Gardens has a world class collection of nearly a thousand varieties displayed at eye level, and the huge number of plants means it's likely that hundreds will be blooming when you visit.

The Collections
While there is no question which family of plants steals the show at the garden, there are several other important collections. Many people are surprised to discover that cacti and other succulents are common in Costa Rica. Many species are from the Tropical dry forests of Guanacaste. Others thrive in the treetops where constant drying winds, scorching sun, and the lack of soil to trap rainwater create an unexpectedly arid environment.

Other families that are well represented in the garden are palms, bamboos, heliconias, bromeliads, palms, and conifers. The surrounding tropical premontane forest is some of the best preserved in the area, and attract animals, birds, and insects to this protected haven. Hummingbirds in particular frequent the garden, and especially the nectar rich flowers in the butterfly enclosure.

In the region

A tour of a working coffee farm is the perfect compliment to the ornamental gardens at Lankester.

Irazú Volcano National Park is about twenty miles north through scenic potato, onion, and cabbage fields that give way to dairy farms at higher elevations. It lacks the flowing lava of Arenal, but offers an assortment of craters, boiling mud pots, otherworldly green and blue lakes, fumaroles and pyroclastic cones, and cloud forests.

When to visit
Anytime is a great time for a visit to Lankester, but it can be particularly rewarding as a first stop. The identification tags and interpretive materials provide an easy way to start familiarizing yourself with some of the things that you'll see in the wild.
Do you know what a sloth's favorite food is? One of the easiest ways to spot sloths is to know the shape of Cecropia tree leaves, and when you see them on the ground, look up.

The Cattleyas and Their Relatives: Brassavola, Encyclia, and Other Genera of Mexico and Central America
by Carl L. Withner, Hardcover, 242 pages, Publisher: Timber Press, (1998), ISBN: 0881924563

not yet reviewed
This is not a coffee table book full of color pictures. It is a study of the history, cultivation, breeding and ecology.
$US 30.07 from Amazon -or-
Barnes&Noble member price $US 40.80

Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama
by Robert L. Dressler, Paperback, 374 pages, Publisher: Cornell Univ. Press, (1993), ISBN: 0801481392

A relatively technical book, but it includes an extensive section on how to use the guide. There are 40 color plates with 6 excellent photos each. general orchid structure and ecology is complimented by a section on the specifics of Costa Rican an Panamanian plants, and an excellent glossary. A general key is used to to get to the right chapter then 300 pages of specific keys including good black and white line drawings are used for specific identifications.

$US 27.97 from Amazon -or-
Barnes&Noble member price $US 30.36

Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas
by Andrew Henderson, Gloria Galeano, Rodrigo Bernal, Paperback, 363 pages, Publisher: Princeton Univ. Press, (1997), ISBN: 0691016003

Beautiful color plates complimented by species accounts and ecology.

$US 30.45 from Amazon -or-
Barnes&Noble member price $US 35.63

The Rainforests: A Celebration
by Living Earth Foundation, Lisa Silcock (Editor), H R H Charles the Prince of Wales, Paperback: 224 pages, Publisher: Chronicle Books, (1993), ASIN: 0811801551

Fantastic coffee table book loaded with beautiful, fascinating photographs and the added bonus of insightful, interesting text. It's almost impossible not to learn something if you pick this book up. The photos will grab you attention, and you'll scan the text for an explanation of the bizarre things you see.

out of print but available at excellent prices from Amazon

Ultimate Orchid
by Smithsonian Institution, American Orchid Society, Thomas J. Sheehan,Hardcover: 160 pages, Publisher: DK Publishing, (2001), ISBN: 0789480441

Spectacular. Just what you would expect from the Smithsonian Institution teamed up with the American Orchid Society.

$US 17.50 from Amazon -or-
Barnes&Noble member price $US 19.00

Information on the Web
The official website of the American Orchid Society.

The New York Botanical Gardens is not particularly known for their orchid collection, but it holds a spot in our hearts because it was our oasis in the city when we lived a short walk away for four years.

The Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew Gardens is deservedly well known for their orchid collection and is probably my favorite garden in the world, narrowly edging out the Singapore Botanic Gardens.