Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Some naturalized orchids in the town of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico


This is a Brassia, I have not been able to determine if it is a hybrid or a species

Possibly Laelia lueddemanni or a related species
This photo is used to illustrate how the flower of the Laelia on the tree look,
This plant is not the same clone as the plant on the tree.
A humongous plant of Dendrobium moschatum, see photo of flower below

A different view of the clump of Laelia lueddemanni
Rhyncholaelia dygbyiana

These orchids were put in this large tree many decades ago.  I can attest that all these plants were alreay in place and well established by the year 1980.  The large plant of Dendrobium moschatum seems to have been planted in the 1940's.  All these plants are surviving entirely on their own and have weathered uncountable storms and a few hurricanes.  If you look at the branch were the Brassia is growing, it is clear part of it snapped away years ago.   Unfortunately some of the orchids I saw in the 1980's died out or fell from the tree.  I recall there was a Myrmecophila, a Cattleya (possibly skinnery) and a Laelia similar to purpurata that are no longer in the tree.  Given that some were pretty high in the canopy, it is unlikely they were removed by humans as it would have taken some large equipment to reach so high.  I hope they remain in the tree for long years to come to delight and intrigue future generations of orchidists.

1 comment:

Lita said...

Hi Ricardo, I'm in Mayaguez. I lost the info you gave me as to where in the University is the dendrobium located. Pleade send at your convenience. Thx.