Association between rainfall seasonality and the flowering of epiphytic plants in a Neotropical montane forest

The association between the reproductive phenology of epiphytic communities with environmental and ecological factors remains largely unexplored. Because epiphytes depend on environmental moisture, seasonal changes in moisture conditions likely act as the primary determinants of their reproductive timing. We examined whether water limitation or pollinator competition structures the flowering phenologies of an epiphytic community in a seasonal mountain forest in Costa Rica. Additionally, we addressed the environmental factors that might trigger floral induction. Using a 24-month dataset of bimonthly flowering records from 104 species, we found high seasonality of flowering at the species level but somewhat lower seasonality at the community level. The flowering mid-dates of most epiphytes, particularly from monocotyledonous species, occurred during the wettest months, as predicted if water limitation structures flowering. The increased moisture and nutrient availability during the rainy ...