Dense Understory Growth in the Monteverde Cloud Forest

Monteverde's cloud forest sits along the Tilarán Mountains, where trade winds pushing moisture off the Caribbean condense into near-constant mist across the ridge. The reserve protects roughly 10,500 hectares and spans six distinct ecological zones, a range that produces the dense, layered plant growth found at different elevations. Wild banana relatives, tree ferns, and epiphytes common in the understory thrive here due to the reserve's high humidity, which stays above 90 percent for much of the year. Scientists have catalogued more than 2,500 plant species within the reserve, including over 400 types of orchids.