Re: Apology for off topic ID request, but one aroid question.

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Looks quite a lot like common old Barleria cristata, which could well escape from or persist after cultivation.  John.

 

 

I apologize for this off topic ID request, but I recently returned from west coast of Costa Rica and photographed the plant in the SECOND photo shown on the link given below. It was just growing by the side of the road and did not appear to be part of any man-made landscaping as there was no human habitation nearby, although it certainly could have “escaped”.  I have tried some of my local “lists’ but with no luck and I know that many of our members are well versed in tropical taxonomy beyond our beloved aroids.

The shrub was about 1 meter by 1 meter and the zygomorphic flowers, in terminal clusters at the end of the branches, were perhaps 2 cm across.   Any suggestions?

http://home.roadrunner.com/~abycats  (remember, the 2nd photo)

And just to give this post a hint of aroid content, I was in the Cabo Blanco Reserve at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula.  It was November and the last month of their rainy season.  I thought I might see  more aroids in flower or fruit, but did not.  I know there is no good generalization, but how might an alternating wet/dry season effect aroid flowering and fruit set (if any).  I’m thinking that a plant might want its’ seed to mature during the wet season to give optimal conditions for germination.  Is this too much of a generalization?


Don Martinson
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
l*@wi.rr.com