Field Notes: May 17, 2025 Location: Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Encounter Summary: A hiking party sent me footage of Lumenfloris cataracta, known to local guides as "Quetzal’s Lamp," a calf-sized dome of slate bracts half-buried in rootmats. When they paused, the mass heaved and opened: five ember-orange petals unfurled, veins lacing like green lightning. The center seemed to blaze. Petals fanned and rippled but the animal held its ground, no threat beyond wind and

Field Notes: November 22, 2025 Location: Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica Encounter Summary: The air in the cloud forest was thick enough to drink, vibrating with the ceaseless thrum of insect life. I had my lens trained on a mossy branch where two unassuming, spear-shaped buds were clamped tight against the bark. Suddenly, the low-frequency buzz of a Green-crowned Brilliant hummingbird cut through the ambient noise. As the bird hovered to inspect the potential food source, the "buds"