Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Psychilis macconelliae, a comparison between a plant seen in Puerto Rico and those seen in St. Croix.


In the above picture you can see a plant of Psychilis macconnlliae I photographed at an orchid show in Puerto Rico.  I have seen pink colored flowers like this in the island of Culebra, which is to the east of Puerto Rico.  When I visited St. Croix early in 2013, I found the Psychilis macconnelliae differed in color from those in Puerto Rico.  Particularly the sepals and petals had a different color from those that I have seen in Puerto Rico.  


The difference is interesting, however it has to be noted that the plants that usually show up at orchid shows sometimes are not typical representatives of the species. Orchid growers have a clear preference for strickingly colored forms and unusual plants and as a result  of this, the cultivated strains of certain species hardly bear even a passing resemblace to the average plant of the same species in the wild.  Hopefully in the future I will be able to visit Culebra and Vieques and take photos of Psy. macconnelliae in the wild.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Linda, a cor é maravilhosa.
abraços