Epidendrum rondoniense L.C.Menezes

[Rosim_in_BR]

This wonderfuly fragrant species was discovered in the Amazon region and described as recently as in 1990. The State of Rondonia, after which the plant was named, is famous for the fierce deflorastation promoted by the agro-business. I keep wondering, how many species we have already lost under the merciless axe without even knowing about their existence?

Plant and floral stem:
Epidendrum rondoniense L.C.Menezes on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Close up of one flower:
Epidendrum rondoniense L.C.Menezes on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[TikiGeorge]

Originally Posted by Rosim_in_BR

I keep wondering, how many species we have already lost under the merciless axe without even knowing about their existence?

Plant and floral stem:
Epidendrum rondoniense L.C.Menezes on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Close up of one flower:
Epidendrum rondoniense L.C.Menezes on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I know Mauro, it sickens me to think about what we have lost

[flhiker]

That's a beautiful flower. Are these otherwise available commercially? Man for the most part has damaged most every thing it touches. They brought melaeuca trees here to dry up the Everglades so they could sell property otherwise underwater half of the year. Of course it did not work and now they are spending ton's of money to get rid of them. And after building roads that stretch across the Glades and block the natural water flow they are going to raise parts of US 41 to hopefully re-establish more of the natural flow. But most of the damage has been done and will never recover. Sorry for the rant.

[isurus79]

On the bright side, your flowers are stunning!!! Im not familiar with this species but will definitely be keeping an eye out!

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by flhiker

That's a beautiful flower. Are these otherwise available commercially? Man for the most part has damaged most every thing it touches. They brought melaeuca trees here to dry up the Everglades so they could sell property otherwise underwater half of the year. Of course it did not work and now they are spending ton's of money to get rid of them. And after building roads that stretch across the Glades and block the natural water flow they are going to raise parts of US 41 to hopefully re-establish more of the natural flow. But most of the damage has been done and will never recover. Sorry for the rant.

I know how you feel! It's the same thing everywhere.
Btw, the species is commercially availabe, at least in some nurseries here in Brazil.

[Royal]

Originally Posted by Rosim_in_BR

I know how you feel! It's the same thing everywhere.

Yes it is. We don't have as many native orchids here, but we have plenty of axes. AND feral pigs, which without natural predators, destroy our native species habitats just as quickly.

[cb977]

Mauro, that is a stunningly beautiful chid! I want one!!!

Thanks for sharing it with us

[greenbean]

I love the clouds of blooms on this one, and the individual flowers are beautiful too. And it's hard to win me over with pink!

It really is a shame that people seem to have to destroy so much. If we had a little more perspective and foresight, maybe we'd realize that we are basically killing ourselves in the long run. How many potential cures for deadly diseases have we destroyed without even knowing of their potential existence? How much more can we destroy before reaching that critical point where large ecosystems start collapsing and taking us with them? It's already happened before on small scales.