Saturday, December 10, 2011

A large flowered red Maxillaria species from the Quito Botanical Gardens, somewhat reminicent of nigrescens






I found this orchid growing among the rocks in the display area of the Quito Botanical Gardens, Ecuador.  The plant was growing at ground level and I would have missed it entirely if I had not looked between the boulders.  It is a relatively small plant and it was overshadowed by the much larger plants that covered most of the display area.  The flowers are brightly colored and reminiscent of Maxillaria nigrescens, although the flower in this photo is not exactly alike the plant in the book “Orchid Species of Peru”.   But in orchids it is not advisable to make a definite identification of a plant just because of the color of its flowers.  

2 comments:

MillFa Wild Orchid said...

is so unique.. cant get it in malaysia.

Ricardo said...

Most of the Maxillarias I saw in Ecuador are not common in cultivation.