Costa Rica - Rainforest and Jungles

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The first thing that came to my mind was:

“What’s the difference between a ‘Rainforest’ and a ‘Jungle’? 

My past experience is a temperate rainforest (on Vancouver Island, BC) and to my knowledge, I had never been in a jungle.

- The first resource told me that the 'Jungle is dense, impassable and usually a tropical forest while a Rainforest is a forest with high rainfall.' The biggest contrast is the amount of sunlight that peeks through the treetops.

- "Rainforest" is a technical term in ecology, referring to a particular kind of biome or climate. "Jungle" is not, and so its definition is determined in part by how people use it. "Jungle" is a word the specifically refers to land overgrown with dense, tangled vegetation.

-   Over a quarter of natural medicines and around 40% to 75% of all biotic species have been found in Tropical Rainforests (often called the "jewels of the Earth" and the "world's largest pharmacy").

Trees that heal:

 tourist tree 

Cacao

Geonoma epetiolata: called “naked Indian” or “tourist tree”. It is used in different ways to lower fevers. To treat kidney diseases it is suggested that you cook the leaves and take them in the morning and at night. 

Vines:

In Costa Rica the rainforests have layers. There’s a high canopy of treetops that shields the sun from peeking through. Vines climb up long tree trunks to reach the sunlight.

Palms

Costa Rica has 109 of the 4000 species.

Palm oil – not to be confused with coconut oil – is the world’s most consumed vegetable oil and accounts for 33% of vegetable oil and 45% of edible oil worldwide, according to the Scientific Journal Nature.

Palm Oil production has been one of the largest agricultural industries in Costa Rica. But has had a considerable impact on biodiversity and sustainability of the tropical growth. It is reported to be responsible for about 8% of the world’s deforestation.

 Dave’s Natural Pavilion (as noted before in the Costa Rica – Pineapples; Heart of Palm; . . . posting) was developed on an abandoned Palm Oil Plantation in the hopes of rescuing the tropical forest.

Growing houseplants for export has become a booming industry in Costa Rica:

Philodendron

Everywhere the tropical plants are awe-inspiring:

Heliconia Wagneriana 

Rainbow Plant 

A Wondrous Experience