Page 35 - Demo

35Only nature%u2019s lab, having been working for millions of years, is able to provide the genetic diversity needed for plants to assemble novel amazing chemicals. By chance, some of these molecules have extraordinary effects on the human mind and body. Mother Nature has no moral reservations about the consequences of her creations, and both deadly and wondrous plants are the random results of her blind experimentation with genetic shuffling. Chiribiquete has one of the highest rates of plant diversity in the northern Amazon, and is home to thousands of species, many of which are threatened. Yet Chiribiquete is so remote and unexplored, its biochemical treasures are overwhelmingly and predominantly unknown. We have only scratched the surface of the potential botanical diversity found here, and who knows what treasures remain undiscovered, and which species have already been destroyed by deforestation, before even being discovered?As the sun reaches its zenith, the shaman takes his apprentice into the forest to identify and gather special plants. Knowledge of medicinal herbs, roots, and barks is meticulously taught. A missing ingredient, the wrong species or an incorrect preparation could kill rather than cure.NATURE%u2019S LABAs crucial as identifying species, is the knowledge and understanding of the rhythms of nature%u2019s pharmacy. Knowing when and how to harvest is vital to efficacy and safety. But these days, such practices are becoming a gamble. Even the subtlest of changes in climate can have drastic consequences on the nuances of life in rainforest ecosystems. Altered rainfall patterns, and increased temperature, pose threats to the resilience of forest ecosystems and those species which are adapted to the particular climatic conditions within Chiribiquete.4th InstarThe caterpillar stage is the single stage that has the highest mortality rate, as many caterpillars are eaten by predators because they are slow moving and relatively easy to see. Unlike monarch butterfly caterpillars, blue morpho caterpillars are not poisonous to predators, so they have relatively little defenses.