Wild & Wonderful
Nature Up Close in The Botanical Garden 'El Charco del Ingenio', San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Author's Note
NATURE IS INDEPENDENT of nationality. The barn swallow in San Miguel de Allende, coursing low over the presa (reservoir), is the same species, russet-chested and fork-tailed, seen over a cricket pitch in England. On the other hand, a nation may be proud of its koala bear or Komodo dragon. In this part of Mexico, we live in a semi-arid landscape; it extends far north and looks desolate. But we are deceived: above the city, in the conservation area of El Charco del Ingenio, there are 535 species of plants wild, including 30 species of ferns; we have counted 110 species of butterflies and 156 species of birds. Nature is profligate where we surmised she was parsimonious.
This book, Wild & Wonderful, is a celebration of this richness. It is a book of ideas – how floral forms are related to modes of pollination, the relation between bird bills and feeding habits - making use of local examples. UNESCO honored San Miguel, conferring upon it the title of ‘Patrimonio Mundial de la Humanidad’, but the habitats that give it its biodiversity – the deep cool canyon, the high mesa, the presa and its wet meadows – are a heritage of Nature unmolested, conserved in El Charco. Knowledge of its beauties, its impressive views, its variety of organisms encourages the protection it deserves.
Walter Leo Meagher
San Miguel de Allende
Guanajuato
Mexico