Lepanthes rupestris, Stimson 1970, "in situ" growing on very slippery boulders by a mountain stream

These tiny orchids grow on boulders on the side of mountain streams in the high reaches of Sierra de Luquillo.  The plants are small and easily missed.  The flowers are so small most people are oblivious to their presence.  The boulders where these orchids grow are hideously slippery, moving among them demands supreme care and a constante state of alertness.  Any slip can result in a painful fall at best and broken bones at worst.  Given that these orchids are inconspicuous and in a habitat inimical to human presence, the result is that they are fairly common even in places that humans frequent.  

Taking good macro photos of them is not easy since there is no flat surface anywhere to put a tripod.  Also you have to be careful to keep a good balance among the boulders at the same time that you are taking the photos, something that is not easy if you are handling a 100 mm lens, trying to figure out what is the best exposure and hanging for dear life from the rocks themselves to avoid falling.

On top of all that you need to be alert for flash floods caused by rain far away upstream.  These have killed many a distracted bather in these mountain streams.  Happily the day I visited this particular stream, the place was not as soping wet as usual and I could move among the boulders with relative safety.

Bulbophyllum longissimum produces its longest flowers to date.

As my plant of Bulbophyllum longissimum has been getting bigger it is producing larger inflorescences with more flowers.  The flowers are longer than in previous bloomings. The longest flower measured thirteen inches from top tp bottom.  

To bloom before dying, the precarious life of twig epiphytes

A Dendrophylax that is in a piece of bark the tree has shed sends a root toward the nearest branch

A Miconia tree trunk showing the bark that is about to be shed.

This Leochilus is kept in place by its numerous roots even though
the base of the plant is not attached to the tree

In trees that don't shed their bark the branches can become literally
 carpeted with all manner of epiphytic plants

Tillandsia seedlings in a twig of an orange tree. 

A Campylocentrum has found a favorable spot on a branch and is fruiting heavily.  The Ionopsis on the smaller branch will probably fall along with the dead branch in which it is growing.

Most people picture the life cycle of epiphytic orchids as one that is fairly sedate.  They have the impression that once an orchid germinates in a tree it can spend decades growing and blooming seasonally with little change to its circumstances.   This is true for many species, but not for all.   In particular, the life of orchids that prefer to grow in twigs is a race to bloom before the tree sheds the bark or the twig dies.

Why would an orchid grow under such precarious circumstances?  My own guess is that these orchids are exploiting a niche where they face little competition from other plants.    I have observed that the local orchids sometimes develop such extensive root systems that they alone can keep the plant attached to the tree when the twig or branch dies.  Also, they seem to bloom while quite small, no seven year wait to reach adult size and bloom with these orchids.  However even with all these adaptations life is precarious for these orchids, if one walks on the forest after a particularly windy storm it is common to find fallen twigs often with Ionopsis orchids on them.  In the forest around my house you can find Dendrophylax, Ionopsis, Campylocentrum and Leochilus in the branches of Miconia and Guava trees.

Bulbophyllum lepidum flowers, a close up reveals interesting colors, textures and patterns

A close up view of the flowers of Bulbophyllum lepidum reveals interesting colors, textures and patterns.  Local flies go crazy about these flowers and it is not rare to see some of the small ones with pollinia of this species on their backs,

Anolis cristatellus, the camouflage fail of rorschach patterned headed lizard

Generally the local immature Anolis cristatellus are quite a wary bunch.  Given that pretty much every predator around would love to snack on them, including the adult A. cristatellus, their alert demeanor is understandable.   The color of these immature lizards resembles quite closely the leaf litter.  When standing on the forest floor these small lizards are well camouflaged and virtually invisible.  But when these lizards step away from their normal background the color pattern makes them quite conspicuous.  Normally it is not easy to get close to these lizards because they are prone to run away quickly if they become even slightly alarmed.   But this lizard seemed to feel so comfortable perching on the flowers of this Renanthera orchid that it showed an unexpected reluctance to move away.  This allowed me to get close enough to it to take several photos against a background that highlights its camouflage pattern.  The fact that the lizard lacks the tip of its tail means that even a good camouflage is no guarantee of survival in an environment full of hungry and sharp eyed predators.

Bulbophyllum longissimum, growing on and around a basket

I when I got this Bulbophyllum longissimum I wondered what would be a good way to pot it.  I decided that the best way to pot it would be in a wire basket.  The idea was that the plant would be able to grow on top of the basket for a few years and if any pseudobulb grew out of it, the stem could be bent so that it could continue growing down the open sides of the basket.  The plant has thrived on the basket.  Although most of the pseudobulbs are growing on the top of the basket, several are growing on the sides with no loss of vigor or of its capacity to produce flowers.  The basket is two and a half inches deep.  I have found that any additional basket depht confers no advantages to growing this plant.