Bromeliads. They’re everywhere.

Giant century plants, spike-leafed agaves, aloe veras and more. Without a doubt, these terrestrial Bromeliads help create a dramatic backdrop in the Arizona desert.

You’ll also find more than 2,000 different species of Bromeliads in Costa Rica. Some are terrestrial such as the pineapple, but, the majority are epiphytes, or air plants. These grow hard, wiry roots to attach themselves to trees and rocks giving the appearance of a parasite. They’re not. They find, and store, their own food and water. The water is stored at the base of their rosette leaves making a great home for tiny poison dart frogs and other insects.

Plant leaves might be yellow, green, red, striped, spotted and variegated in any number of different patterns. The flowers are brilliantly colored and exotic. We became aware of the enormous variety of Bromeliads that grow in our region when we visited a local beach resort, Banana Azul (see photo). Their elaborately landscaped gardens on Playa Negra in Puerto Viejo feature all types of Bromeliads. This was the inspiration we needed to begin our own collection. With the help of some “volunteer” plants that began to grow at the bottom of a tree in our yard, and the addition of another “store-bought” one, we are off to a good start. If all goes well I will add many more photos in the future. Of Bromeliads and poison dart frogs…I hope.

What's in a name?

For several years I had a job that required me to "man the registration desk" as attendees arrived for technical conferences. We would ask for the attendee's "Last Name," and then their "First Name." Sounds simple, right? Depending upon their native country our straight-forward request were sometimes met with a quizzical look or a name that didn't appear on our list. We soon figured out that there's a lot more to a "First Name" and "Last Name."

Traditionally, in the US, a woman marries a man and takes his last name. She may use her maiden name as a middle name or hyphenate it with her husband's, but his name is the "Last Name." They have children and the children take on the same last name as the father. Now everyone in the family has the same last name.

Well, in Costa Rica, a person's "full name" will consist of their unique "First Name," followed by their FATHER's "family name," and then the MOTHER's "family name." Take, for example, Maria Prince Calvo. Prince reflects her father's family name and Calvo reflects her mother's. She now marries John Gonzales Bustamonte. There is no change to her name. Along comes a child. They call her "Mary." Her full name is now Mary Gonzales (father's family name) Prince (mother's family name). In common usage you might also see "Mary" signing her name as Mary Gonzales S. without writing out the third name. It's different than "our way," but seems to add a bit more family history to a person's name.