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The Bladen Nature Reserve in southwest Belize is one of the country’s best protected areas with nearly 100,000 acres of preserved rainforest that are largely unexplored and were once home to the Mayan people.
It was just this place that our team from Selby Gardens went recently to document plants from that part of the world. The purpose was to conduct an inventory of epiphytes – plants that grow on other plants without harming them. The journey took the team of 15 deep into the Bladen Reserve over 11 days of hiking through rugged, rocky and wet, though beautiful terrain. The expedition was conducted with our two main colleagues from Belize, Ella Baron of Caves Branch Botanical Garden and Elma Kay of the University of Belize Environmental Research Institute.
Like most developing countries, is Belize facing serious pressures to convert forests to other uses such as agriculture. The work with Selby Gardens is so important to Belize to increase the local knowledge about the plants there for future protection and preservation. Exploration to little known places like the Bladen can help fill the knowledge gaps about biodiversity.
The Selby team is the world’s leading experts in epiphytes, and the Caves Branch team was there to bring them into this new area. Caves Branch handled the logistics, carried all the gear and equipment needed, and made sure everyone was safe. Safety was very important – at one point we even made the first descent in history into a 300-foot-deep sinkhole to study its flora.
During the expedition the team was able to document 170 species of epiphytic plants. This is extremely important for our institutions, which are working together to document plant diversity and distribution, which is the key to plant conservation.
Even with all of the plants that were identified, we know there are hundreds, if not thousands more to discover and document in the caves, waterfalls and forests of Belize and throughout the tropics.
The team at Selby Gardens is looking forward to future trips to this important area, and being able to share its results and discoveries upon returning to Sarasota.