The nursery that gives the forest back

We propagate native species of the tropical dry forest so the parrots, parakeets, and macaws we release find food, shelter, and places to nest.

Priority species Request a quote

Tropical dry forest

An animal can only be free again if the forest it returns to still has food and nesting sites.

That's why the Nursery is the first step of every release.

Tropical dry forest is one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet: very little remains in Colombia, and what survives is fragmented into isolated patches. Restoring it is not landscaping: it is the condition that allows the parrots, parakeets, and macaws we rehabilitate to find fruit, seeds, cavities, and tall trees when we release them.\n\nThe seeds we plant come from the forest itself. Every seedling that leaves the Nursery returns to the ground as future food and shelter.

Why we plant

Three reasons behind every tree

Food and shelter for the released wildlife
We prioritize trees that produce fruit, seeds, and flowers year-round, and tall species with cavities where parrots and macaws can perch and nest.
The most threatened ecosystem
We restore degraded areas with native species from the tropical dry forest, recovering soil and cover where only scrubland was left.
Landscape connectivity
We conserve Cerro El Peligro as a core refuge and restore the riparian buffers — 30 meters on each side of the streams — to reconnect forest patches so wildlife can move through.

Seedlings of native species in the Fundación Loros forest Nursery

From the forest, for the forest

We collect seeds from the neighboring forest, propagate them in the Nursery, and carry the seedlings to degraded areas and riparian zones. It's a closed cycle: the same forest plants its own recovery, with local genetics adapted to the region.

Priority species for tree planting

We plant with parrots and macaws in mind: trees that give them shelter — tall, mature specimens for perching, roosting, and nesting in cavities — and food — fruits, seeds, flowers, and pods throughout the year. These are the native tropical dry forest species we plant first.

Common name	Scientific name	Value to wildlife
Caracolí	Anacardium excelsum	Emergent tree: perch and shelter
Ceiba	Ceiba pentandra	Nesting and shelter in the canopy
Ceiba de leche	Hura crepitans	Cavities for nesting
Macondo	Cavanillesia platanifolia	Giant tree: nesting cavities for macaws and parrots
Guacamayo	Albizia niopoides	Tall tree: perch and nesting cavities
Palma de vino	Attalea butyracea	Fruits and nesting sites
Búcaro	Erythrina fusca	Flowers: nectar and food
Guamo	Inga sp.	Edible pods and shade
Hobo	Spondias mombin	Abundant fruits
Camajón	Sterculia apetala	Fat-rich seeds
Guarumo	Cecropia peltata	Fruits; fast-growing pioneer
Olla de mono	Lecythis minor	Seeds, wildlife food source
Higuerón	Ficus insipida	Figs year-round
Copey	Ficus maxima	Figs: key food source
Uvito	Cordia alba	Sweet fruits
Indio desnudo	Bursera simaruba	Shelter; fast-rooting living fence
Muñeco	Cordia bicolor	Fruits for birds

We also propagate

Fruit trees and nectar plants that supplement the diet of both wildlife and the local community: cashew, soursop, sugar apple, star apple, sapodilla, mango, mamoncillo, guava, tamarind, cañafístula, cedar, algarrobo, orejero, guácimo, guáimaro, corozo, yellow oak, polvillo, sapote, mamey, ciruela criolla, cañaguate, palmito, sauco (Cordia dentata), Magdalena calliandra (Calliandra magdalenae), rain tree (Samanea saman), and strawberry tree (Muntingia calabura), among others.

Want to go deeper? Read about the best trees for parrots and macaws in northern Bolívar.

The Nursery is authorized by the ICA to produce 185 timber, fruit, and ornamental species.

The six keystone trees

Six trees concentrate almost all the wildlife we protect. Planting them — or caring for the mature ones still standing — is the decision with the highest fauna return per individual planted.

Yellow mombin (Spondias mombin) — transversal food for 17 species; its gum sustains the cotton-top tamarin through the dry season.
Wine palm (Attalea butyracea) — the only one with proven double function: macaws nest in its standing dead trunks, and six species feed on it. Preserving the dead-standing palms is as important as planting new ones.
Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) — cavities for macaws and owls; structural emergent.
Sandbox tree (Hura crepitans) — cavities for macaws and owls.
Wild cashew (Anacardium excelsum) — food for macaws and toucans; habitat for the tamandua.
Trumpet tree (Cecropia peltata) — food for sloth, iguana, chachalaca, Forpus parrotlet; fast-growing (early succession).

Useful cavities take decades or centuries to form. Preserving the mature trees still standing is essential while the new planting matures.

Who we plant for

Explore trees and wildlife

Pick a fauna species to see which trees to plant for it, or flip the mode to see which wildlife depends on a tree. Every relationship is backed by at least two independent research efforts.

Scarlet macaw

Ara macao

Plant for this species (6)

Nesting●●●P1
Kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra)
Cavity in emergent tree
Nesting●●●P1
Sandbox tree (Hura crepitans)
Cavity
Food●●●P1
Kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra)
Seeds and flowers
Food●●●P1
Sandbox tree (Hura crepitans)
Seeds
Food●●●P1
Wild cashew (Anacardium excelsum)
Fruits and seeds
Food●●P1
Panama tree (Sterculia apetala)
Oil-rich seeds

Cross-referenced from three independent research efforts (Claude · Perplexity · ChatGPT). Only relationships agreed on by ≥ 2 sources are included, restricted to the approved tropical dry forest catalogue of Los Loros.

Tree planting of a native species during a visit to Fundación Loros

Plant a tree when you visit us

We invite everyone who visits us to plant a tree — to leave this place better than they found it. Each visit leaves one more root in the forest.

Plan your visit

A registered nursery

The Vivero Fundación Loro is registered with the Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA) under Resolution 00001884 of March 3, 2023, registration 13-001-51, NIT 901597480-2, as a producer and distributor of propagation plant material for timber, fruit, and ornamental species.

The Nursery also finances the forest

We sell plants to third parties and all revenue is reinvested in the Foundation's mission: restoring the tropical dry forest. Buying our seedlings is planting forest — even if not on our land.

Request a quote

The Nursery