Here is a picture of an orchid found growing at 1500m in Pampa Hermosa, near Satipo in Perú.
http://www.trekperu.org/orchid.jpg I would dearly like to know what it is - even the genus! The flowers are as illustrated, around 12 cm across. The plant stands around 3-5m tall, winding through scrub with flexible 2-3 cm diametre stems. The leaves are extremely odd for an orchid. There is no petiole, and the leaf entirely encloses the stem, standing 2-3 cm proud on one side and 25 cm on the other. Leaves are extremely fleshy and rigid - approaching an aloe, almost - and tapering to a sharp point in a near straight line, much as an aloe does. I could not get to see the roots. The area is Sobralia territory but I wonder if this is not a Vanilla? Or what? _____________________________________ Oliver Sparrow Tel: UK (0)20 7736 9716 www.chforum.org www.treknepal.org www.trekperu.org www.datafreeze.com _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
