Cattleya labiata on a yellow Ipe

[Rosim_in_BR]

Ipê amarelo, or yellow Ipê, is the national flower of Brazil. As you can see, our national flower is a huge tree that completely covers itself of yellow flowers in the end of winter/begining of spring. Ipê amarelo is a marvelous sight when in full bloom! Here you can see flowering now a Cattleya labiata with three flowers.

[Shirley]

Thanks, Mauro. Lovely! Did that occur naturally or did you climb a ladder to put the orchid up there? Perhaps you'll send us a photo of the tree when it's in flower? Must be very beautiful. I understood that Cattleya skinneri was the national flower of Brazil but maybe that's for a different state.

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Shirley

Thanks, Mauro. Lovely! Did that occur naturally or did you climb a ladder to put the orchid up there? Perhaps you'll send us a photo of the tree when it's in flower? Must be very beautiful. I understood that Cattleya skinneri was the national flower of Brazil but maybe that's for a different state.

Yes, Shirley, I put it there times ago. This yellow Ipe is in my front yard and C. labiata occurs naturally 3,000 km away from me!
It is interesting that our national flower is actually a huge tree, but that is it! As for C. skinneri, maybe it could be for Guatemala or one of the Central American countries because it is not native of Brazil.
The photo below shows the same tree, but you can notice that this is a poor flowering because only one side of the tree is in bloom. Normally, the entire tree dresses yellow producing a magnificent view!

[AboutOrchids]

Thanks for the great Catt and Ipe photos. It's nice to see the Catt growing in the wild (even if it had some help from you getting there.)

BTW, Cattleya skinneri is the national flower of Costa Rica.

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by AboutOrchids

Thanks for the great Catt and Ipe photos. It's nice to see the Catt growing in the wild (even if it had some help from you getting there.)

BTW, Cattleya skinneri is the national flower of Costa Rica.

Thanks for the precise info, Marc!

[Sun rm.N.E.]

Mauro

Thanks for the mini photo safari. I really like the orchid surrounded by the little Tillandsia.

Interesting garden design on that photo. Is this tree the same Ipe that is the valuable hard wood that we import?

[Rosim_in_BR]

Originally Posted by Sun rm.N.E.

Mauro

Thanks for the mini photo safari. I really like the orchid surrounded by the little Tillandsia.

Interesting garden design on that photo. Is this tree the same Ipe that is the valuable hard wood that we import?

Yes, Sun, it is. Ipe has one of the hardest woods.

[kinknstein]

That is so kool Mauro!! The tree is awesome in bloom!

[phearamedusa]

Did I notice other orchids in that tree, Mauro? If so, what else was there. Both the tree in flower and the orchid were gorgeous, by the way.

[Don Perusse]

Just another reason I love OB so much. We learned more about orchids, yes, but we also learned about other places, histories, and good social time along the way. Thanks for sharing.

DON