Blooming Orchid Species in southern California

[estación seca]

The one Guarianthe aurantiaca I saw in habitat was in east central Mexico. To my surprise it was growing and flowering in the shade of partially evergreen forest in November, well into the dry season, when all the deciduous trees had shed their leaves. The plant was on a rock lying on the forest floor; it had fallen off an adjacent mesa. The mesa would have blocked any chance of sun until afternoon, and at best there might have been a few dapples in the afternoon.