Zygopetalum and rup. Laelia in Rio de Janeiro

[JungleJo]

Hi all,

I very much like your pictures and descriptions of orchids in the wild and I thought it is my time to do it now. Just thought I would return the favour for once!

Sorry for the poor pictures, I made them with a GoPro which is obviously better suited for video. Next time I will bring a proper camera to make better pictures

I was walking in the mountains North of the city of Rio de Janeiro with a few friends last week. The place is located about 2h away by van from the city's beaches. There are plenty of mountains to choose from. We started walking at an elevation of 1000m and finished at about 1800m, top of the mountain. The higher we went, the more Zygopetalum I could see. The last 100m (1700-1800m altitude) were basically littered with the plant. They had spread like grass. I also found some rupicolous Laelias (or are they called Cattleyas nowadays?) on the very top of the mountain, just like one would imagine. Lots and lots of bromelias along the way as well. Anyway, I hope you like the photos. I included two of the surrounding landscape to give a better understanding of the site and where they grow.

I hope I have identified the correct orchid families, if not, please correct me.

By the way, there are supposed to be a lot (hundreds) of different orchids in the city itself, located on its mountains. Sugar loaf mountain, Christ Redeemer, etcetera, etcetera. Future project