These colonies of Sphatoglottis plicata and Spa. plicata var. alba were obliterated when the road was repaired from damage

These orchids were growing on a fern prairie next to highest point of highway 10 in Puerto Rico.  Unfortunately, the road on this spot, started cracking and slumping.  A massive rework of the down slope side of the road was done to protect the road from further damage and to repair it.  The whole area was denued and reshaped.  Some day I will return to see if the orchids have returned.  However these particular orchids are abundant in the extreme in certain estreches of this road.  In this places even constant removal of plants by people that stop to uproot them, seems to make no dent in the populations.