A Cojón de Fraile That Nobody Planted

Walking through the dry leaf litter and scattered stones of the forest, Jorge Alcalá and Michel Salas came upon it without warning: a young individual of Cojón de Fraile (*Tabernaemontana cymosa*) growing alone, with no one having planted or tended to it. Its large, oval leaves — a deep green, etched with bold veins — were pushing their way up through the low undergrowth, while behind it rose the broad trunk of a taller tree, as though the forest itself were quietly taking the newcomer in. This kind of spontaneous growth is a good sign. It means the soil, the shade, and the moisture of this spot are ready to receive new individuals of this native species. The find was recorded on March 29th, with photographs and precise coordinates — a small piece of data, yet one more thread woven into the living map that Fundación Loros builds, walk by walk, across these 520 hectares.