Lancetilla Botanical Garden: Honduras' Green Treasure

On a recent trip to Central America, I had the opportunity to visit the Lancetilla Botanical Garden on the verdant Caribbean coast of Honduras. This 1680-hectare (4151-acre) green space and research center harbors over 1200 plant species and is said to be the second largest tropical botanical garden in the world.

Lancetilla, which gets its name from a palm tree native to Honduras, was established in 1926 by American botanist Doctor William Popenoe and his wife Dorothy. An employee of the United Fruit Company, William Popenoe set out to create experimental plantations for the study of economically important fruits and other plants. His garden has grown from modest beginnings to include species from tropical regions around the globe.

At the heart of Lancetilla lies the Biotic Reserve with 1281 hectares of protected Honduran primary and secondary humid forest. There are also 322 hectares of experimental plantations, plus the Wilson Popenoe Arboretum, which conserves tropical species from four continents. In addition, Lancetilla is home to many species of animals, including troops of endangered howler, spider, and white-faced capuchin monkeys. Some 250 species of birds have been spotted in the garden.

Our Honduran guide Salvador led our small group through the park-like Arboretum, the garden's most-visited area. On either side of meandering natural stone paths grew plants of all kinds, each identified with a sign giving both its scientific and Spanish names.



Along the way, Salvador pointed out medicinal, ornamental, and even poisonous species such as strychnine. We stopped to examine the infamous coca plant from which cocaine is made, plus we admired several national trees of Central American countries, including a giant Guanacaste tree from Costa Rica and the Honduras Pine. Salvador made sure to show us an ackee tree, the fruit of which is poisonous if improperly prepared. This tree is infamous at Lancetilla because Dorothy Popenoe, whose grave is in the garden, died in 1932 after eating an unripe ackee fruit.

Lancetilla Garden has a Visitors Center housing plant-related exhibits (signage in Spanish only) and a cafeteria. The center sells a trail map of the garden for 10 Lempiras (about US$0.50). Admission to the garden is 115 Lempiras (about US$6.00) and opening hours are 7am to 4pm daily. Guide services are available as well as birding tours. Air-conditioned cabins can be rented for overnight stays. Bring mosquito repellent, bottled water, and protection from the sun. Lancetilla Botanical Garden and Research Center is located about 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) southwest of the beach resort town of Tela.

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Lancetilla Botanical Garden, Honduras - Images by John Mitchell

Preserving Las Pozas in San Luis Potosi, Mexico

Las Pozas is truly one of the hidden wonders of 20th-century Mexico. Located in the lush rain forest of the isolated Huasteca Potosina region of San Luis Potosi state, this remarkable surrealistic sculpture garden was created by Edward James, an eccentric British poet, nature lover, and art patron. Between 1949 and 1984, James built 36 fantastical concrete sculptures in an 80-acre parcel of jungle near the mountain town of Xilitla.

Born in 1907 into extreme wealth, young Edward James lived a life of privilege. He was brought up on 6000-acre West Dean Estate in West Essex and attended Eton and Oxford. James later mingled with London high-society and embraced the literary and art worlds of his time. After a failed marriage to dancer Tilly Losch, James moved to Europe where he befriended Salvador Dali, Magritte and other members of the nascent surrealist movement. Knowing a good thing when he saw it, Edward James amassed a large collection of surrealist paintings, which he later sold to finance the construction of his own artistic fantasies at Las Pozas.

Today, a visit to Las Pozas offers a walk through a fairytale world of giant bamboo-shaped columns surmounted by concrete flowers, and half-finished cement towers sprouting leafy motifs and tentacles of rusted rebar. Precarious spiral staircases ascend to the open sky, and narrow bridges lead to pristine waterfalls tumbling through the trees. Surprises await at each turn in the winding path: faded yellow and blue Gothic arches clinging to weathered facades, stone walls with eye-shaped peepholes surveying the greenery, and giant fleurs de lys sculptures blooming in the tangled undergrowth.

Edward James died in 1984, leaving Las Pozas in the care of his longtime friend and construction supervisor Plutarco Gastelum. In 2007, the Gastelum family sold Las Pozas to Fondo Xilitla, a nonprofit organization established to preserve and repair Las Pozas' sculptures, which are slowly being devoured by the jungle. Like a true surrealist, Edward James felt that his home should never be finished, so it is only fitting that Fondo Xilitla is planning to pick up where James left off.

GETTING THERE: Xilitla is situated about 350 kms (220 miles) southeast of the city of San Luis Potosi. There is frequent first-class bus service from San Luis Potosi (via Ciudad Valles) to Xilitla. The most interesting place to stay in Xilitla is the Posada El Castillo, Edward James' former home and something of a surrealist fantasy itself. An attractive alternative is the Hostal del Cafe, a welcoming small hotel set in a patch of tropical jungle only a few minutes walk from downtown Xilitla. Las Pozas lies three km (two miles) north of Xilita. Admission is about US$3.00. Opening hours are daily from 9am until 6pm. For more information about Fondo Xilitla, visit the organization's website.

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Las Pozas Mexico - Images by John Mitchell