When you get "down" to about 12-
11000ft, orchids become more varied and common. Venturing off the trail to explore rock faces such as the one
in the photo below, reveal a hand-full of lithophitic species. A few species of Stelis, Pachyphyllum, and
a few other pleurothallids grow from mossy cracks in rocks. The little vandacious Pachyphyllum always seem to be in every stage of budding, seeding
and blooming at the same time. These orchids are easy to find if you look in
the right places but if you really want to see their flowers, a magnifying lens is
nescesary. I carry a "loupe" which is a very small but very powerful magnifying glass, and its small enough that I can wear it around my neck. The clump of Pachyphyllum must be dozens of years old yet it is only about6 inches tall and each growth is about 1/2 inch wide! The Stelis too can be very miniscule. I found a species with leaves only half an inch tall and flowers so small that even the loop didnt show much. They are known for being extremely difficult to identify so I didnt even try.
No comments:
Post a Comment