It is Fascination of Plants Day! I welcome you to one more view of the leaf of the fascinating tropical Cecropia, also known as Embaúba. I have added it to my “Dry Leaf” image series, dedicated to portraying the beauty of leaves that are past their prime.
What is fascinating about the Cecropia? These pioneer successional trees are myrmecophylous, which means that they have an association with ants. They house the ants in their hollows and segmented stem, providing them with food. Usually, a single Azteca ant colony inhabits each mature Cecropia tree. The ants, in turn, protect the trees from predators and remove climbing lianas and other plants that compete with the Cecropia for light.
Cecropia trees are ideal for sloth viewing, because they have more space between their leaves than some denser trees of the rainforest canopy. Common knowledge says that sloths have a preference for this fascinating tree. Humans have been know to use the Cecropia for sandpaper, wood, animal fodder, eating the fruit, tobacco substitute, shade, making flutes, and composting material.
Digging my archives from my trip to Brazil last year, I found a photo of a Cecropia tree. Because these trees are tall, and are often immersed in the Atlantic Forest, they are not easy to photograph. However, by the road of the family house, there is one especial tree that I was able to photograph from below. I find the radial arrangement of the leaves of this tree quite fascinating.
If you are new to this blog, and have not been introduced to my project Dry Leaf (Folhas Secas)“, you can find my previous posts on it on this link. My posts include some tips on how I make these types of photographs, and also how I manage my files in a large project like this one. The fascinating leaf of the Cecropia is what inspired me to endeavor to photograph dry leaves in the first place, and it remains my favorite leaf of all.
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Wall Art landscapes and miscellaneous
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It is all about the light 
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🙂
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The relationship between the ants and the tree is quite interesting, but the shape in the last photo caught my eye, too. The form resembles that of many plants in the carrot family, like prairie parsley or Queen Anne’s lace. As so often happens in nature, the wildflowers and the trees differ in size, but are remarkably similar in shape — fascinating!
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Yes, the radial arrangement of the “branches” is similar in those plants you have mentioned. In many cases, form and function are independent from common ancestry.
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So so interesting. Brings a smile to my face as again I’m reminded how nature is all connected and how it does just fine without us.. despite us I should say. I’m thankful to you again for educating me about these incredible things happening in nature. Beautiful images. I wish I had those trees. I love those leaves.
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Thank you. Yes, nature does not need us all that much! But we need it!
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Really interesting about the coexistence of ants, trees, sloths etc. The interconnections of nature are amazing. Love those leaves!
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Everything is interconnected in nature, that’s for sure. I also like those leaves quite some. Too bad I can’t bring a few tot he usa. Thanks for stopping by.
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The detail in that leaf is beautiful, and nothing enhances detail like black-and-white. Nice image.
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Thank you!
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Beautiful!
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Thank you!
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The little dark ring a bit below the center of the leaf in the top picture keeps drawing my attention.
I know cecropia as the name of a large, decorative North American moth. That seems strange, given that trees in the genus Cecropia grow in the tropics, according to an online article I found. Apparently the moth and the tree both grow together in at least one place.
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The ring is a blemish in the leaf. Maybe it would be better if there were more, so it would not call so much attention. It is interesting that, according to google, “Cecropia is a term derived from the Ancient Greek κέκρωψ (kékrōps, Latinized: cecrops) which means “face with a tail” and refers to the mythical first king of Athens.” I can see the why for the species name Hyalophora cecropia, but I am not clear as to why the tree was named Cecropia.
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I always enjoy your leaf images. Ants are amazing creatures and very important on so many ecological levels. I really liked the silhouette shot of the view below the tree.
I’d love to meet a sloth in the wild someday. I have a tee shirt with sloth face on it and I jokingly tell people it’s my spirit animal.
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Thank you. The sloth makes me feel calm and in peace when I see it. It always looks like it has a smile on it’s face and the very slow pace of it’s movement is soothing.
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That slow moving is how the sloth received one of the seven deadly sins as its name and why I call it my spirit animal since at times I can be quite lazy. 🙂
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