The Magazine for Tropical Nature, Ornamental Horticulture & Photography

Featured

The Business of Bird Feeders in the Tropics: Attracting Birds to Attract Money

Is the promotion of birding for people with mobility limitations a primary goal or a collateral benefit?

Fer-de-lance

So, you think your boss has a bad temper? Stand back, my friend…

Cattleya aclandiae - The Leopard Print Boss o' Bossa Nova

There are flamboyant orchids and then there are FLAMBOYANT ORCHIDS.

Taming Titans

Giant Anthuriums at Home and Abroad

GALLERY - clicking on images below will link to corresponding articles.

Panamá Canal Black Velvet Anthurium, Anthurium papillilaminum in nature, Colón Province, Panamá. Image: ©J. Vannini

Gray-breasted Mountain Toucan, Andigena hypoglauca, Caldas Department, Colombia. Image: ©P. Rockstroh

Warscewicz’s Neotropical Blueberry, Satyria warscewiczii, Panamá Province, Panamá. Image: ©J. Vannini

Blue Tortoise Beetle, Eugenysa colossa, Loreto Department, Peru. Image: ©D. Fenolio

Lau’s Butterwort, Pinguicula laueana, ‘CP2’. Image: ©R. Parsons

Darwin’s Frog, Rhinoderma darwinii, Contulmo Natural Monument, Biobío Region, Chile. Image: ©W. W. Lamar

Mesoamerican Yellow Slipper Orchids, Cypripedium irapeanum and C. dickinsonianum, Alta Verapaz Department, Guatemala. Image: ©J. Vannini

Silver Arowana, Osteoglossum bicirrhosum, Colombia. Image: ©P. Rockstroh.

Queen Victoria’s Agave, Agave victoriae-reginae. Image: ©J. Vannini

Botu or Amazon River Dolphin, Inia geoffrensis, Novo Airão, Rio Negro, Amazonas State, Brazil. Image: ©W. W. Lamar

Crushed Velvet Philodendron, Philodendron verrucosum Tico Blues cv. ‘Queen of Hearts’. Image: ©J. Vannini

Blue-throated Starfrontlet, Coeligena helianthea, Colombia. Image: ©P. Rockstroh

Lady Acland’s Cattleya, Cattleya aclandiae. Image: ©R. Parsons

Harpy Eagle, Harpya harpyja, Colombia. Image: ©P. Rockstroh

Ruby-flowered Passion Vine, Passiflora cremastantha, Colombia. Image: ©P. Rockstroh

Sylvia’s Leaf Frog, Cruziohyla sylviae. Image: ©J. Vannini

Grand Plaza and tropical forest canopy at Tikal National Park, Péten Department, Guatemala. Image: ©J. Vannini

Maduro’s Blue and White Sobralia, Sobralia maduroi. Image: ©J. Vannini

Snake handling in El Baile de los Mexicanos, Quiché Department, Guatemala. Image: ©J. Vannini

Bastimentos Strawberry Poison Frog, Oophaga pumilio, Bocas del Toro Province, Panamá Image: ©F. Muller

Drake’s Bromeliad, Aechmea drakeana in cultivation. Image: ©J. Vannini

Horned Guan, Oreophasis derbianus, in cloud forest high canopy, Sololá Department, Guatemala. Image: ©Javier A. Rivas Romero, courtesy of David E. Mendieta.

Frailejón, Espeletia grandiflora, Cundinamarca Department, Colombia. Image: ©J. Vannini

Amazonian Green Treeboa, Corallus batesii, vicinity Iquitos, Loreto, Peru. Image: ©W. W. Lamar

Blue Potato Chip Palms, Chamaedorea tuerckheimii, Guatemala. Image: ©J. Vannini

Male Wire-tailed Manakin, Pipra filicauda, Colombia. Image: ©J. J. Arango

Cloud forest blue water stream flowing over ancient limestone, Huehuetenango Department, Guatemala. Image: ©J. Vannini

Undescribed Velvet-Leaf Anthurium sp., Colombia. Image: ©J. Vannini

Male Hercules Beetle, Dynastes hercules, Río Sucusari, Loreto, Peru. Image: ©W. W. Lamar

La Flor de Bogotá, Odontoglossum/Oncidium luteopurpureum. Image: ©F. Alzate

Harlequin Poison Frog, yellow saddle form, Oophaga histrionica, Colombia. Image: ©P. Rockstroh

Cuthbertson’s Dendrobium, Dendrobium cuthbertsonii in cultivation. Image: ©J. Vannini

Cardinal Tetras, Paracheirodon axelrodii, Colombia. Image: ©P. Rockstroh

Violet Leaf Rheophytic Cyclanth, Dicranopygium sp., Panamá Province, Panamá. Image: ©F. Muller

Striped Armored Catfish, Panaque fino. Image ©P. Rockstroh

Leaf detail on a cultivated Ecuadorean Arrowroot, Goeppertia sp. . Image: ©J. Vannini

Andean Bear, Tremarctos ornatus, in páramo, Cundinamarca Department, Colombia. Image ©P. Rockstroh

Kovach’s Slipper Orchid, Phragmipedium kovachii. Image: ©R. Parsons.

Sumaco Horned Treefrogs or Dragon Frogs, Hemiphractus proboscideus, Caucho Caño, Perú. Image © W. W. Lamar

Gentry’s Cycad, Zamia gentryi. Image: ©J. Vannini

Gold Eyelash Viper, Bothriechis nigroadspersus, Limón Province, Costa Rica. Image: ©J. Vannini

Female Giant Anteater and young, Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Colombia. Image: ©Andrés González/Wild Llanos

Pink and White Nun Orchid, Lycaste virginalis f. delicatissima. Image: ©J. Vannini

Male Blue-headed Sapphire, Chrysuronia grayi. Image © J. J. Arango 2021

Upper Orinoco flood forest, river and sky, Vichada Department, Colombia. Image: ©J. Vannini

Juvenile Panamá Blonde Tarantula, Psalmopoeus pulcher on Red-calyxed Goldfish Plant, Columnea pulchra, Panamá. Image: ©Fred Muller

Giant Monkey Frog, Phyllomedusa bicolor, Amazonian Perú. Image: ©W. W. Lamar 2022

Herrera’s Scarlet Star, Guzmania herrerae, Veraguas Province, Panamá. Image: ©J. Vannini

American White Ibis, Eudocimus albus, Santa Rosa Department, Guatemala. Image: ©Gabriel Rodríguez Coloma 2022

Flor de la Muerte, Lisianthus nigrescens var. cuspidatus, in cloud forest Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. Image: ©J. Vannini

Western Cottonmouth, Agkistrodon piscivorous leucostoma, Mississippi, USA. Image ©W. W. Lamar

Toucan Barbet, Semnornis ramphastinus, Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia. Image: ©P. Rockstroh

Green Velvet Dumbcane, Dieffenbachia sp., under longwave Ultraviolet light. Guna Yala, Panamá. Image: ©J. Vannini

Peruvian Amazon Poison Frog, Ranitomeya amazonica, Loreto Department, Perú. Image: ©D. Fenolio

Anthurium cupulispathum, Quindío Department, Colombia. Image: ©J. Vannini

Trans-Pecos Copperhead, Agkistrodon laticinctus. Image: ©J. Vannini

Featured

A Hoot of a Spectacle

Captive breeding and reintroduction of Spectacled Owls (Pulsatrix perspicillata) in Guatemala

And Along Came a Spider...With Some Friends and Relatives

Some of my experiences with what many might consider the creepiest of the crawlies.

El Manchón

Vignettes from a threatened Guatemalan wetland.

Bienvenidos

Bienvenidos, Willkommen, Bienvenue, Huanying, Bem Vindo, Howdy!

An Introduction to Exotica Esoterica’s Tropical Nature Magazine.

(Really) Exotic Plants

Featured

Taming Titans

Giant Anthuriums at Home & Abroad

(Preview)

Ultraviolet Induced Visual Fluorescence in the Araceae: A Primer

Viewing tropical aroids in a different light.

Offbeat Bromeliads

Featured

La Élite de las Tillandsias - Out of the Curio Bin & into Desire

A look-see at uncommon tillandsias.

They're the Pits

Long considered the red-headed stepchildren of mainstream bromeliads, some very beautiful and collectible pitcairnias live out where the wild things are.

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Access to deeper dives and behind the scenes looks into advanced tropical horticultural practices as well as observations on fieldwork, plant collection management, and Neotropical wildlife.

Magazine

Meet Los Esotéricos

The faces behind the names on the site.

Magazine

Notice of Copyrighted Image and Other Intellectual Property Theft

Companies and individuals caught making unauthorized use of our images or other intellectual property will find themselves named & shamed here.

Cacti & Other Succulents

Featured

Pint-size Porcupines

Spider-nest haworthias as pets.

On the Pleasures (and Perils) of Captive Boojums

Boojums, ocotillos and Palo Adán in nature and cultivation.

Recent Posts

Featured

Taming Titans

Giant Anthuriums at Home & Abroad

(Preview)

Swamp Lion

Cottonmouths and Canebrakes signal: Don’t Tread on Me.

Tropical Filmy Ferns in Nature & Cultivation

So you fancy yourself a skilled grower? Please check your ego at the door.

(Preview)

Machu Picchu

The Condor’s Lair.

Ultraviolet Induced Visual Fluorescence in the Araceae: A Primer

Viewing tropical aroids in a different light.

Copperhead

With a southern crawl, y’all.

Depth of Field

Understanding focal options in nature photography.

Ultraviolet Fluorescence in Plants - Light in the Fast Lane

Sexy plants after dark.

(Preview)

Taking a Stab at Stibnite

An alchemist’s guide to transforming crystal antimony into antimoney crystals.

The Business of Bird Feeders in the Tropics: Attracting Birds to Attract Money

Is the promotion of birding for people with mobility limitations a primary goal or a collateral benefit?

There’s a Frog in my Throat!

Not your usual cases of Frog Bites Man.

Whiskers, warts, pimples, and scales

Rainforest Treegoblins in captivity.

(Preview)

A Hoot of a Spectacle

Captive breeding and reintroduction of Spectacled Owls (Pulsatrix perspicillata) in Guatemala

Orinoco Loco

Bill Lamar drops by his office in Colombia for a morning coffee and finds a ten-foot crocodile had the same idea.

Anthurium diabloense: What’s in a Name?

A beautiful new aroid species and the nitty-gritty of tropical plant discovery and naming.

Digital Solutions - A Picture with a Story

Missing Monkey Frogs and digital forensics.

Poison Frog Porn, Part III: Perú

Frogs Gone Wild. A gallery of Perú’s spectacular poison frog fauna.

The Native Lingo

Ornamental Plant Taxonomy & Breeding – An Illustrated Guide to the Terminology

(Preview)

A Collector’s Look at Anthurium Hybrids and Hybridization

Rothschild’s Creation, Mistaken Identities and Spathe Oddities

(Preview)

The New Birding for Old Knees

Birdwatching for rarities in the tropics usually requires some sacrifice. We may have found a better way…

And Along Came a Spider...With Some Friends and Relatives

Some of my experiences with what many might consider the creepiest of the crawlies.

Up close and personal: Gabriel Rodríguez Coloma

Portraits of dancing egrets and feathered serpents

Pint-size Porcupines

Spider-nest haworthias as pets.

Up close and personal: Camilo Sabogal

Daguerreotype imaging in the 21st century

Fall Over Foliage

The UnSalad

A Triumph with a Triumphans

Seed production in a popular Philodendron in cultivation.

TROPICARIO

Colombia’s floral megadiversity on display in modern architectural jewel cases.

Raising a Little Stink

Notes on Anthurium clidemioides, A. pacificum and A. flexile in nature and cultivation.

A Thousand Rivers Run Through It

“And God said, let the waters swarm with living creatures…” Genesis 1:20 ¿Did we mention we like to fly fish for offbeat species?

The Llanos

A journey to Colombia’s “Great Plains”.

The Magazine for Tropical Nature, Ornamental Horticulture & Photography

Taming Titans

GALLERY - clicking on images below will link to corresponding articles.

(Really) Exotic Plants

Offbeat Bromeliads

Search Articles by Keyword or Author

Join Esotérica Exclusiva

Paywalled Premium Content(More of the Best Stuff)

Cacti & Other Succulents

Recent Posts

Paywalled Premium Content
(More of the Best Stuff)