In May, four team members representing Marie Selby Botanical Gardens returned to Belize as part of an ongoing collaboration with Caves Branch Botanical Garden there. The scientific purpose is to conduct botanical inventories and explore a remote and wild geographic area that was last inhabited about 1,500 years ago by Mayan people. The crew hiked more than 100 miles through rugged terrain with all the gear, equipment, food and water they would need for the two week expedition.
The Selby Gardens team included Kelvin Cooper, a member of the board of trustees, Angel Lara, greenhouse manager, Photographer Daniel Perales and Selby’s Director of Botany Bruce Holst.
Upon their return, Cooper, Lara and Perales provided some field notes, observations and memories of the journey and their impressions. Holst returned a few days after the others and is curating his findings and takeaways from the experience. We will publish his field notes separately.
Amazing. Spectacularly beautiful. Be prepared. For anything
Kelvin Cooper, PhD
I knew this was going to be a physically demanding journey, but it was also evident that anything can happen in the jungle so you have to keep your wits about you. Even leaning up against the wrong tree could be dangerous. There were palm tree there with spines on their trunks that would just break off in your hand.
For me there were several memorable moments.
- The day we hiked up in the upper part of Ramos Creek – that was an area of resplendent physical beauty. Beautiful rock gardens and waterfalls. Abundance of plant and animal life everywhere.
- Appreciation of wildlife – when we were camped in the more remote camp, Ella, Bruce and I inadvertently came upon a tribe of White Lipped Peccaries (wild pigs). They did not take kindly to our being in their territory. They very assertively told us to move along.
- American Ambassador to Belize and his wife came to Caves Branch Botanical Garden on our final night to learn about the adventure and what we had learned. That was quite special.
Most poignant experience: realizing how important habitat preservation is. Having access to a wholly undisturbed rainforest, I realized how rare and precious that is. Humans tend to take the short view, while nature takes the long view.
A Rare and Wonderful Opportunity
Angel Lara, Greenhouse manager
This sort of field expedition is not something that horticulturists typically get to experience. It was so beneficial –we are the ones to care for and cultivate these plants from the wild. For us to see how and where these plants grow and what grows around them, the context is invaluable.
One of the forest rangers from Belize who accompanied us on the expedition, Marcus Cholom, was of Mayan ancestry. Among other things, we enjoyed learning more of his culture and language.
We were hiking in a natural preserve area that is currently protected by the government of Belize. The last time this area had been visited by botanists was more than 20 years ago.
We collected about 400 living specimens and many herbarium specimens. Several of the plants we collected, we believe to be of importance in our inventory and possibly new to science. Some of the unfamiliar plants we collected included:
- An epiphytic yucca that hadn’t been documented since the last inventory about 20+ years before, a terrestrial beach dweller (similar to Spanish bayonet)
- An epiphytic member of the Asteraceae or sunflower family
- And possibly 3 new pleurothallid orchids including a Lepanthes
Dusk With the Inner Glow of the Day Passed
Daniel Perales, Photographer
The team was made up of ecologically-minded scientists, field guides and outdoor enthusiasts. There was a contagious passion, obsession and enthusiasm for plants and the environment. Being around people with a heightened sense of awareness –the comradery felt like family. We shared the experience of being remote, off the grid, together in a demanding environment.
