About Costa Rica Tree Atlas
An open-source project documenting the magnificent trees of Costa Rica
Our Mission
The Costa Rica Tree Atlas is dedicated to creating a comprehensive, accessible, and bilingual resource documenting the remarkable trees found throughout Costa Rica. We believe that knowledge about native flora is essential for conservation, education, and fostering a deeper appreciation for the natural world.
What We Offer
Bilingual Content
All content is available in both English and Spanish, making this resource accessible to a wider audience.
Comprehensive Profiles
Each tree species includes detailed information about botany, ecology, uses, cultural significance, and conservation status.
Scientific Accuracy
Content is researched from authoritative sources including scientific literature, botanical institutions, and field observations.
Open Source
This project is fully open source. Anyone can contribute new tree profiles, corrections, translations, or code improvements.
Why Costa Rica?
Despite being only 0.03% of Earth's surface, Costa Rica contains nearly 5% of the world's biodiversity. This remarkable concentration of life makes it one of the most important places on Earth for conservation and biological research.
Our Impact
How to Contribute
We welcome contributions from botanists, naturalists, photographers, developers, and anyone passionate about Costa Rica's trees. Whether you want to add a new tree profile, improve existing content, translate material, or enhance the website, your help is valued.
🔄 How We Create Content
We gather observations from citizen science platforms and data from conservation organizations
Cross-reference with scientific literature, herbarium records, and field guides
Write comprehensive, bilingual species profiles with photos and ecological information
Publish freely under open licenses for education and conservation
Where Our Data Comes From
This atlas is made possible by organizations and communities that freely share biodiversity data with the world. We aggregate and present this information to make it more accessible for education and conservation.
iNaturalist
A citizen science platform connecting millions of nature observers worldwide
What We Use
Species observations, photographs, and distribution data
Why It Matters
Citizen science at scale — millions of real-world observations from the global community
SINAC
Costa Rica's National System of Conservation Areas
What We Use
Conservation status and protected areas information
Why It Matters
Official conservation data from Costa Rica's government
Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
Costa Rica's National Museum and largest herbarium collection
What We Use
Herbarium specimen records and taxonomic references
Why It Matters
500,000+ plant specimens — the definitive botanical reference for Costa Rica
INBio
National Institute of Biodiversity of Costa Rica
What We Use
Species distribution data and ecological information
Why It Matters
160,000+ plant records with detailed distribution and habitat data
Organization for Tropical Studies
Organization for Tropical Studies — Wilson Botanical Garden
What We Use
Research publications and rare species documentation
Why It Matters
Premier tropical research station protecting rare and endangered tree species
Jardín Botánico Lankester
Lankester Botanical Garden — University of Costa Rica
What We Use
Scientific research and botanical education resources
Why It Matters
Leading research institution for Costa Rican plant biodiversity
You Can Help Improve The Data: When you contribute to iNaturalist or support SINAC's conservation work, you're improving data quality for researchers and educators everywhere. Better data at the source means better resources for everyone.
Dual-License Structure
Costa Rica Tree Atlas uses two licenses: AGPL-3.0 for code and CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for educational content. Free for education and research, with attribution required.