Incessant rain, persistent mosquitoes and occasional snakes are on the cards for a group of Irish adventurers heading for the jungles of Guyana. The Trinity College students and academics hope to discover unknown plant species growing deep in the rain forests.
They will feel the same kind of excitement as experienced by the plant hunters of the 19th and 20th centuries, stated Dr Daniel Kelly, a senior lecturer in the Department of Botany.
Dr Kelly is co-leader of a trip that will bring 30 Irish and Guyanian researchers into the remote Iwokrama Forest in central Guyana. His fellow leader is Dr James Martin of Guyana's National Agricultural Research Institute in the capital, Georgetown, who also happens to be a former research student at Trinity.
The group departs on June 19th and will spend seven days searching for plants in the rain forest and seven more days in Georgetown at the institute.
In particular they will be searching for epiphytes, also known as "air plants". Epiphytes are unusual in that they don't grow in soil: their lives are spent entirely off the ground, growing on the bark and branches of the forest.
The group includes ferns, orchids, bromiliads and even members of the pineapple family, Dr Kelly said. "There are more epiphytic orchids than ground-dwelling species."
These plants have largely been ignored by field researchers. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington catalogues only seven bromiliad species, he said. "There must be many more than that." For this reason the trip will be a genuine voyage of discovery. "Basically anything that we record will be new."
The trip will also be a challenge, Dr Kelly said. They will travel 300km down tiny roads and dirt tracks. They will use four-wheel-drive vehicles but the way may still be blocked by flooding as it will be very rainy, Dr Kelly said.
The group may be forced to complete the journey to Iwokrama by boat. "Our field station will be on the banks of the Essequibo River."
They will also have to contend with the "locals" - not the nearby Amerindians but the denizens with four, six and eight legs. Snakes are not expected to be a problem but there are plenty of biting insects and spiders and the jungle at night is alive with the sounds of animal life. "You hear much more than you see."
Epiphytes are extremely diverse and they live at all levels of the tree, from near ground to the top of the 40-metre high canopy.
"The major limiting factor is access to the epiphytes," Dr Kelly said. Those travelling include an expert at climbing and handling ropes, but the team will also have to rely on freshly-fallen trees to achieve a real picture of the species distribution.
The team has also had to contend with the financial burden. The trip will cost about £32,000 and plant sales, pub quizzes and support from the college have yet to bridge the gap. They are seeking commercial support to complete this funding challenge.
Anyone who can help in this regard can contact Dr Kelly at Trinity. Information about the trip is available on the web at: http://tcd.ie/botany/guyana