Dried Cecropia Leaves

I haven't posted in a while because after Christmas we (and 20 Xavier University students and faculty) went to Costa Rica!  Every year while everyone else is off looking for monkeys, jaguars, snakes, and toucans I find myself drawn to the ground in search of what I consider to be one of the most beautiful things in Costa Rica - dried Cecropia leaves.

I absolutely love their curvy repetitious arms and the way they decay.  Some of them are nothing more than a skeleton by the time I find them, but the vein structure is incredibly beautiful and delicate, like the one below. 

This bottom photo might be my favorite.  When I look at it I can't help but think that the lobes are huddled together whispering rainforest secrets known only to wise old Cecropia elders.

So next time you are hiking in the Neotropics, watch your step for snakes and these aging treasures resting right at your feet.