This website provides information on the trees of the rainforest of Southeastern Peru. Our database includes
965 species, representing
120 families, and
7379 images. We're focussing on their fruits, seeds and seedlings, though we provide some information on adult features, like leaves and flowers.
The photos provided on this website were taken primarily at Estacion Biologica Cocha Cashu (EBCC). Additional pictures were obtained at the Amazon Conservation Association's Estacion Biologica Los Amigos. Seeds, fruits, flowers and other identifiable material was collected as they became available between 2003 and 2007. Whenever identifiable seeds of new species were collected, they were sown in a greenhouse at EBCC. They were grown on there for a period of months (or years!) to derive seedlings of known species identity. See some views of the greenhouse at right.
This project is a result of the hard work of many people. John Terborgh (Duke U.) established the seed-trapping project that collected most of the species displayed here. Fernando Cornejo (BRIT) was invaluable in identifying even the most obscure seeds. Patricia Alvarez (Rutgers), Kyle Dexter (Duke U.) and Beth Pringle (Harvard) collected, sorted and identified seeds. Tim Paine (UMR EcoFoG - ENGREF) and many others grew seeds in the shadehouse. Janette watered the seedlings religiously. Pamela Weisenhorn (U. Minnesota) and many others took photographs, and kept things organized. Tim Paine assembled and manages this website. His website may be found here.
Images may be downloaded or put to any non-commercial use. Please contact us for authorization before downloading large quantities of images. A physical copy of these images (7.8GB) is available on DVD-ROM. Contact Tim Paine for details.