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Tico Explorers

Explore Central Valley

The Central Valley is home to Costa Rica’s capital and many neighboring towns, with farming landscapes and mountains beyond the urban centers. Discover museums, markets and local traditions alongside the natural world. Discover the stories shared by local people, support their work and help keep community spaces and natural surroundings clean.

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Cortez Amarillo

Golden trumpet flowers can brighten the branches of an almost leafless tree.

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Hanging Lobster Claw

This cultivated heliconia has hanging clusters of colorful bracts.

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Ceiba Kapok Tree

Huge buttress roots help make a mature ceiba unforgettable.

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Guapinol

Paired leaflets and hard brown pods identify a forest tree with an important wildlife role.

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Mountain Immortelle

Poro gigante is a South American tree widely planted and naturalized in Costa Rica.

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Ice Cream Bean

Guaba is planted for its long ribbed pods and as a shade tree.

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Firebush

Firebush is a shrub with clusters of narrow orange to red tubular flowers.

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Parrot’s Beak Heliconia

Parrot’s beak heliconia is a cultivated ornamental with slim upright flower clusters.

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Red Ginger

Red ginger is an introduced ornamental grown in moist tropical gardens.

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Monstera

Large split leaves with natural holes make this cultivated climber easy to notice.

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Golden Trumpet

Golden trumpet is a South American ornamental cultivated and naturalized in Costa Rica.

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Great Blue Heron

This large heron searches shallow water for fish and other small animals.

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