Philodendron

Sorry, I didn't take too many photos today and just barely managed to snap a few last minute before the sun sank into dusk.

This is a philodendron, in the Araceae family. A tropical family, but like most plants we call 'house plants', it grows well in our homes because its evolved and adapted to low light and ambient temperatures year round, like in the understory of a tropical forest. I picked this one up two years ago at the farmers market in Ann Arbor and made a gift of it to my parents when I left the settled lifestyle...

Soon though it dawns on me I'll be seeing these tropical plants again in their native forests where they can grow monstrous. Climbing up hundreds and hundreds of feet in the canopy of the tallest rainforest giants. In only two months I will be dipping my head under big umbrella leaves and snaky liana vines in the cloud forests of Ecuador!

I can't wait to be back in that element, my element. Much to look forward to between then and now, and the West Coast awaits. I leave tomorrow.