"Costa Rica... 1,600 species... the country's... national flower, la guaria morada (Cattleya skinneri)...
In the last five years... 60 new species have been found in the country... some orchids, like the Oncidium and Cohniella are used in Mexico as a substitute for the hallucinogenic peyote... the orography and geographic location of the country favors the proliferation of orchid plants of both South America and Mesoamerica... Eight years ago, the Italian philosopher and orchid specialist Franco Pupulin arrived in Costa Rica to write a... book on the country's native orchid species. The first volume, Vaninshing Beauty, was published in 2005 and details 400 of Costa Rica's orchid species. The writer promises that he has enough information gathered for three more installations, upping his species total to between 1,500 and 1,600. Pupulin concludes that, "according to the diversity index, Costa Rica is the world champion" of orchid species. ... Lankester Botanical Gardens (Cartago Province) and Wilson Botanical Gardens (Puntarentas Province) are... favorites of orchid lovers, as well as a garden in Palmares (Alajuela Province) which dedicates itself fully to the national flower." URL : http://www.costaricapages.com/blog/costa-rican-wildlife/orchid-expo/711 **************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
