Coastal South-west India species

[Nandini]

Hi all,

I just got back from my hometown on the West coast of India. Managed to get a few plants off some roadside trees. The first picture is a plant that I plucked off a tree on a side road that was precariously perched on a branch that had been chopped off, so all I had to do was twist off the bit of branch that held the plant. Could this be a rhyncostylis perhaps ?

The second plant is a tiny specimen barely 4 inches high that was growing low enough for me to pluck off the tree trunk, larger ones 18-24 inches tall were growing in clumps higher up with many fleshy whitish roots with green tips. Is this some kind of dendrobium or an orchid at all ?

Thanks
Nandini

[Call_Me_Bob]

i wish there were epiphytes orchids here!!

[Baz in Oz]

Perhaps Nandini visited your area and harvested them all.

Baz

[Call_Me_Bob]

haha! maybe!

[RosieC]

I think Baz is commenting on the fact that taking orchids from the wild is NOT a good thing to do. Lots of people take just one or two and that's how the numbers in the wild drop so much they become extinct.

[kavanaru]

Right, Rosie...that should be avoided and is actually prohibited in many countries. Most people think that there is no because they collect one or two, but when you add... That's how many orchids have disappeared from many regions... Collecting a plant from a fallen tree or from a place that Will be destroyed (e.g. To build a Road) is a different story, but harvesting them from healthy trees or regions not endangered should a big NO! in the Life/ethic of each orchid/nature lover!

[Nandini]

Should have mentioned clearly, both plants were on trees that had branches lopped off and were destined to fall on the roadside.

[Aussie42]

I'd go with Aerides on the first picture. That was my first thought (I have about a dozen) and a quick check seems to show that there are a couple of Aerides native to India.

Is it really better to let an orchid die than - say - pick up a fallen branch and take it home? Not that there is any opportunity for me to do so here in the city, but I think that's a very interesting question. (It's also illegal in Australia so this is a hypothetical question for those places where it may not be illegal.) Moral dilemma anyone?

Cheers,
Aus.