forest understory. It is estimated that about 700 species
occur in the American tropics. (Another 300 species
are found in the Asian tropics, 15 species occur in
Africa, and up to 40 species are distributed on various
islands in the tropical Pacific.) Most Piper species grow
as shrubs, but some grow as herbs, some as vines, and
some as small trees.
The Piper plant’s distinctive small flowers are densely
packed on a stalk, which in the Neotropics is called
the candela or candellillo, Spanish for “candle.” When
immature, the flower stalk droops, but it becomes
stiffened and stands fully upright when the flowers
are ripe for pollination (plate 7- 17). Piper flowers are
pollinated by many species of bees, beetles, and fruit
flies. Seed dispersal, however, is dependent on bats. Small
fruits form on the spike, and are eaten, and the seeds
subsequently dispersed, by bats of the genus Carollia,
which are called piperphiles. Several species of Piper may
occur on a given site, but they do not all flower at the
same time, reducing competition for seed dispersers as
well as lowering the likelihood of hybridization.
Some Piper species are well defended by aggressive
ants, and others have their leaves laced with toxic
chemicals, in particular various amides.
Miconia
Miconia is a diverse genus of shrubs and small trees
that are found within forests but also abundantly in
successional areas. They are members of the family
Melastomataceae (popularly called the melastomes), and
as a group they are important to various birds and other
animals for the abundant, small, nutrient- rich fruits they
produce. Miconias have distinctively veined leaves and
are thus easy to recognize (plate 7- 18). More will be said
of them and their relationships with birds in chapter 9.Cecropia
You cannot miss the cecropias, abundant roadside
trees of the Neotropics. Cecropia (family Urticaceae,
formerly family Moraceae), comprising 61 species, is
one of the most conspicuous and easily identified tree
genera of the region. Easy to find, great- looking trees,
cecropias, like the miconias, attract many species of
birds. Cecropias are easy to recognize. They are thin-
boled, somewhat spindly trees with bamboo- like
rings surrounding a gray trunk (plate 7- 19). Their
leaves are large, deeply lobed, and palmate, somewhatPlate 7- 20. Cecropias have large palmate leaves, beneath
which the flowers and fruits dangle like fingers, attracting
numerous bird species. Photo by John Kricher.Plate 7- 19. Cecropias, growing in clumps along roadsides and
in successional areas, are among the most conspicuous of
Neotropical trees. Photo by John Kricher.Plate 7- 18. This Miconia shows the characteristically veined
leaf pattern that distinguishes the genus. The stalk above the
leaf contains the fruits that attract numerous bird species.
Photo by John Kricher.108 chapter 7 if a tree falls . . . rain forest disturbance dynamics