Certain plants, in their struggle for sunlight in a dense cloud forest, transform from small herbs to tree-like specimens, developing huge leaves, large flowers and woody trunks. The Giant Groundsel (Telanthophora grandiflora), Tree Daisy (Montanoa spp.) and Tree Dahila (Dahlia spp.) are good examples of this adaptation.

More than half of nearly 1000 species of Salvia (sage) grow in Central America. All salvias have three similar characteristics: the flower structure is double lipped, the stems are square and the leaves opposite. Salvias and hummingbirds have coevolved for millenia, devloping a special relationship where the plant provides nourishment for their skillful hummingbird pollinators.

Dr. Dennis Breedlove, former Curator in the Botany Department at the California Academy of Sciences brought many seeds and specimens from Mexico in the 1980s to California, recognizing that the native habitats were under threat from agriculture and other human-related impacts. One particularly striking specimen is the Deppea splendens, now extinct in the wild, which survives in both botanical and home gardens across North and South America.

Breedlove was also one of the first to introduce Cuphea spp. to the North American horticulture trade. These shrubs are covered with flowers for long periods throughout the year. It hybridizes easily- there are more than 250 species, including hybrids, available, with flowers in brilliant scarlet, blues, pinks, and purples. The unique and colorful flowers of cloud forest plants makes many of them popular garden plants, such as fuchsias and begonias. Click to read more about cuphea.