Since Alta Verapaz has significantly higher humidity than Peten you get even more orchids, bromeliads, and other epiphytes. But Alta Verapaz also has terrestrial orchids. One, red-orange, is very common. It grows as a “roadside weed” along most rural unpaved roads around Senahu and many other areas of Alta Verapaz.
We found lots of this terrestrial orchid blooming on Christmas Day (yes, I work almost every day of the year, including my birthday, New Year’s, etc; there are so many plants and pollinators and eco-systems to learn about, I don’t want to waste a day).
Camera NIKON D810, Nikon AF-Micro-NIKKOR 200mm f/4D IF-ED Macro, f/13 speed 1/250, ISO 4000, photo by Dr Nicholas Hellmuth
Camera NIKON D810, Nikon AF-Micro-NIKKOR 200mm f/4D IF-ED Macro, f/13 speed 1/250, ISO 6400, photo by Dr Nicholas Hellmuth
Senaida Ba, our Q’eqchi’ Mayan plant identifier and photo assistant told me she had also seen terrestrial orchids similar in color and size to the aquatic Bletia purpurea that we found in a dozen areas around Lake Yaxha, Peten. We found this pink-purple orchid blooming on the same roadside hills as the red-orange ones.
Difference is that the pink-purple ones had no leaves: literally, the flower stalk came straight out of the ground. Senaida found one place where all the flowers had wilted but there was a set of leaves.
We will send these photos to orchid experts to make sure we have a proper name before we add the name to an update of this news item.
Posted Dec. 27, 2018
