Madre Espejo
Look inside the drop. That tiny world is flipped upside down, because every raindrop works like a little lens, bending light the same way a camera does. This one is hanging from a madre de cacao blossom, and the tree's name means "mother of cacao."
It earned that name. For centuries, farmers across Mesoamerica have planted it beside their cacao trees to shade them from the sun, and it still does that job today. It blooms on bare branches in the dry season, feeds big native bees like carpenter bees, and works with soil bacteria to pull nitrogen from the air, enriching the ground for everything growing around it. A mother to the whole garden, holding up a mirror after the rain.
This moment of noticing was very special for me. I notice this tree daily, but this dry season it did something I wasn’t expecting. It flowered the most stunning buds I have ever seen. I’ve looked at this tree for two years and somehow had never witnessed this magical moment. The best part? The bees! It felt like there were hundreds swarming at any given moment, as excited as I was for this spectacular display.
What we protect begins with what we notice. My noticing leads to The Wild Land Project.
About This Image
Common name: Madre de cacao (mother of cacao)
Scientific name: Gliricidia sepium
Location: Northern Belize
Collection: After the Rain
