Though the drawn specimen of Tillandsia bergeri shows a small plant, T. bergeri tends to allocate much of its energy into growing into large clusters, as seen in the photograph above. This native Brazilian species grows epiphytically (growing upon other plants) or lithophytically (growing upon rocks), and therefore do not require soil for growth. Plants that grow in this manner
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Encyclia cordigera is an orchid species native to Central America, with a range that expands into Northern South America and north into Mexico. This orchid is prized by orchid collectors and botanists due to its tolerance to a wide range of conditions, as well as its rich color and sweet fragrance, both of which can vary
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Dichogama colotha is a species of moth found in Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and southern Texas. A description of this little known species was first published in the Proceedings of the United States National Museum in 1912. D. colotha is a relatively small moth with white, almost iridescent wings that span 28-36mm, and tends to fly from June to October (Dyar
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The above drawing shows the lovely fruit of the cactus Hylocereus costaricensis, or the Costa Rican Pitahaya. This fruit is known as “dragon fruit” to most, but the term “dragon fruit” applies to a variety of cacti within the genera Hylocereus and Stenocereus, both genera of night-blooming cacti native to South America. Fruit from Stenocereus cacti tend to be called
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Hello! My name is Allysa Hallett, and I will be contributing scientific and artistic illustrations to the DANTAisms blog, most of which will highlight tropical plant and animal species. Sometimes these drawings will focus on subjects that are important to tropical ecological communities, and at other times they might focus on subjects that are important to tropical agriculture. Wherever they
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