Monday, April 15, 2019

Spiranthes torta (Thunb.)Garay & H.R.Sweet, I photographed this little plant in a grassy area in the town of Lares, Puerto Rico




I saw this plant in a grassy area in the town of Moca.  The plants are small and easily missed among the grass.  I had to get into my belly to be able to take a close up of the flowers.   It is native of Puerto Rico and many other places.

Sunday, April 14, 2019

Psychilis macconnelliae Sauleda (1988), a plant with a pure white lip that is not an alba form, from St. Croix Virgin Islands



One of the defining characteristics of Psy. macconnelliae is its large pink lip.  This particular plant is notable for having a pure white lip.   The plant is not an alba form since you can see it can produce pink pigments by the color of the column of the flower.  It is from the island of St. Croix, where there are large populations of this orchid growing near the seaside.  Generally, in Psychilis species one can see a degree of intraspecific variation in color of the flowers.  But the only other plants with a pure white lip I have seen are the alba forms of Psy, krugii.   For a view of the usual color of the flowers of Psy. macconelliae, use the following link:  https://ricardogupi.blogspot.com/2013/08/psychilis-macconnelliae-from-st-croix.html

Thursday, April 11, 2019

Male Puerto Rican parrot displaying to two apparently indifferent females


In the Rio Abajo forest in Arecibo I was able to observe a male Puerto Rican parrot cupping his wings and moving his body from side to side on a bare branch a few feet from two females.  The male is making himself seem larger and he is moving in a way that presumably is particularly sensual and attractive.  The two females were liking the sap that was oozing from the raquis of a banana leaf.  The females had broken the raquis to gain access to the sap.  It seems the dance was a success, eventually the male left and the females followed him.

En el bosque de Rio Abajo, Arecibo, pude observar un macho de cotorra de Puerto Rico abriendo parcialmente sus alas y moviendo su cuerpo de lado a lado en una rama a algunos pies de dos hembras.  El macho esta haciendo su cuerpo mas grande y moviéndose en lo que presumimos que es una forma especialmente sensual y atractiva.  Las dos hembras, se encontraban lamiendo la savia que manaba del raquis de una hoja de guineo que habían partido adrede para tener acceso a la savia.  Al parecer la danza fue exitosa, cuando el macho se fue, las hembras lo siguieron.

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Bletia patula Graham 1836 a flower without any trace of pigmentation


Alba forms of Bletia patula are very rare in Puerto Rico.  For many years no local plants that are pure white were seen.  There was a single clone, cultivated in Mayaguez that was awarded by the American Orchid Society.  This plant was photographed "in situ" in a swampy area in the northern karst region.  It is part of a very tiny population.  Most of the flowers were grievously damaged either by insects or some kind of fungal or bacteria spotting of the pure white floral segments.

Monday, January 21, 2019

Dendrobium anosmum var. huttoni


In the difficult weeks and months after the hurricane, I lost hundreds of plants to the changed conditions of illumination, humidity and rainfall.  This is one of the survivors of hurricane Maria.  Last year it was in poor shape and it didn't bloom.  The 2018 canes were small for the plant but they were large enough to produce four flowers.  I expect that as it recuperates from the damage it suffered after the hurricane it will go back to blooming well.  It is highly fragrant and even with only four flowers it perfumes the area around it.