Between the decades 1930’s to 2000, I estimate that more than half the botanical “identifications” of wild vanilla as Vanilla fragrans or accepted name today, Vanilla planifolia, are incorrect. How can vanilla vines be identified precisely if there is no complete flower? When crushed, flattened, and dried not as much detail remains. For these reasons we do photography of the flowers. Snag is that a vine flowers only about two weeks and each flower is open only about 3 hours. People we know in Peten tell us they know the vanilla orchid vines but have never seen them flower in 50 years of being in Peten. Our guide said he has been trying to find them flowering the last four years. In May 2022 our FLAAR field work research team found Vanilla insignis orchids flowering on three vines (two in PNYNN and one about 50 kilometers to the west). We thank Guatemalan orchid specialist Fredy Archila for identifying the flowers that we sent by WhatsApp the day we found them.
The FLAAR team has many years experience finding wild vanilla orchid vines in Alta Verapaz, Izabal, and Peten. But to find one flowering out in a remote area is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In 2023 we will return and find-and-photograph more now that we know where and when they flower (keeping in mind that the rainfall and temperatures vary every year).
If you are a botanist, ethnobotanist, be sure to have a permit from CONAP to do field work in any national park, plus permit from the co-administration of the park. FLAAR has a 5-year permit (2021-2025) of cooperation and coordination for flora, fauna, and ecosystem fieldwork for the entire 21,000 square kilometers (over 5-million acres) of the whole Reserva de la Biosfera Maya. FLAAR specializes in macro photography of insects and details of flowers plus video, panorama and aerial drone photography of ecosystems. Since we have been doing field work for many decades we know the local guides and local people in the villages.
In early May we found a tower of flowers growing out of the side of a liana (woody vine) that had fallen to the ground in some earlier wind storm. So we all stopped to take lots of photographs. Here are a few samples. This is a large liana, a thick woody vine. It climbs high into the tree tops so you rarely even see any leaves. To find this liana on the ground with a spire of flowers in full bloom was unexpected.
Every botanist has a different classification; most call it Bignonia binata. But I estimate it is potentially Bignonia noterophila Mart. ex DC.
Photograph by Nicholas Hellmuth, iPhone 13 Pro Max, May 7, 2022.
Everyone suggests it is Bignonia binata. But Kew says that species is: Amazonia, Caribbean, Orinoquia, Pacific. Elevation range: 0–540 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Amazonas, Antioquia, Atlántico, Caquetá, Chocó, Meta, Nariño, Putumayo, Santander, Sucre, Valle del Cauca, Vaupés, Vichada. (https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/108602-1).
So has the FLAAR Mesoamerica team found and photographed and published a plant not yet documented for Peten? Need to check all the herbaria of Guatemala which are not yet on-line.
Then we found more of these lianas flowering high in the treetops of the far southeast part of Parque Nacional Laguna del Tigre (PNLT). So we are preparing two reports (one on the liana flowers in central Peten; the other report on the liana flowers in PNLT). In these FLAAR botanical reports later this summer we will cite each different botanist as to whether they use the name Bignonia binate or Bignonia noterophila.
Updated June 14, 2022 Previously Posted May 19, 2022
We are preparing about seven videos on different biodiverse aspects of habitats within PNLT Savanna #10. The second video is on the several unexpected and unexplained circular areas within this savanna. What causes the difference in color of the soil in these circular areas? Why do different plants grow inside the area and other plants grow outside? Did the Classic Maya modify the surface of this savanna over a thousand years ago? There is no milpa agriculture or any modern agricultural use of this savanna presently because it is inside Parque Nacional Laguna del Tigre (PNLT).
A subsequent video (later this month) will show all the rectangular areas in several areas of the same Savanna #10.
Shows the corridor between the east end of Savanna #10 and the nearby west end of Savanna #11.
View of several round areas with soil color or vegetation totally different than surrounding part of the Savanna #10.
Photo by Roxana Leal, April 8th 2022. Cañón de Río Dulce. (Typha domingensis)
Searching in the internet we were able to see videos of how Typha, when ripe, takes out something similar to cotton and flies through the air. We wanted to see it with our own eyes at some point.
When leaving one of the rivers where we documented Grias cauliflora, we could observe Typha and there was just one of these plants already mature. Dr. Nicholas decided to investigate and when he opened it his "cotton" began to come out and fly through the air. It was very nice to see this!
Typha domingensis is classified as an emergent rooted aquatic microphyte, since it is rooted at the bottom of water bodies and its stem blades and inflorescence emerge from the water. This plant reproduces by its rhizome and the propagation of its flying seeds. It inhabits fresh and brackish inland waters.
Typha spp. it has a high economic potential since fiber is extracted from this plant for the manufacture of fabrics. It also has a high ecological importance, due to the fact that, in some bodies of water, this plant is introduced to control the excess of nutrients that can accelerate eutrophication processes. But, the introduction of this plant in bodies of water needs to be careful since its reproduction and propagation can accelerate too fast because its rhizomes and its vast seed bank in the soil (Hall, 2008).
Photo by Alejandra Gutiérrez, March 2021, Cánon D1. Río Cáliz. Inflorescence of Typha domingensis.
Photo by Victor Mendoza. May 2nd 2021. Sory RX100 Underwater. Lago Petén Itza, El Remate. Example of a rooted Typha domingensis.
Bibliography
Hall, S. Instituto Nelson de Estudios Ambientales, Universidad de Wisconsin-Madison, EE. UU.
Written by Lic. Roxana Leal & Ing. Victor Mendoza Bibliography by Ing. Victor Mendoza Photographs by Lic. Roxana Leal, Alejandra Gutiérrez & Ing. Victor Mendoza
During 2021 and 2022 the team of FLAAR (USA) and FLAAR Mesoamerica (Guatemala) have been focused on finding savannas from satellite images and then figuring out how to find these savannas so we could hike to each one.
Here is an aerial photo by Haniel Lopez from the FLAAR drone DJI Mavic 2 Pro that shows how many savannas are in the southeast part of the Parque Nacional Laguna del Tigre (PNLT). We have found 35 savannas so far (and over 70 savannas a hundred kilometers to the east, outside the PNLT). Our project is 5-years of cooperation and coordination with CONAP for the entire Reserva de la Biosfera Maya (RBM), Peten, Guatemala.
Posted April 28, 2022
Written by Nicholas Hellmuth
We are pleased to share with you our invitation to deliver the results of our project: "Livingston Biodiversity Documentation" where you can learn a little more about the project and the achievements obtained by our team.
This presentation will be in Spanish starting 6 PM on Thursday, 17 March.
