wild encyclia tampensis in my neighborhood!!!confirmed

[DirtyCoconuts]

I have seen an orchid...impossibly high in a tree, i used to think perhaps a brassavola (it has long ish hanging leaves, grows on the underside of the branch and appears brass(y)), but i never saw any flowers and it was too high and not in my yard so i just always stared as i walked by and checked for any clues

recently, as i learned more about orchids and such i realized it was probably an encyclia that happens to be hanging down and it is so far up that i could easily miss the flowers.

well on a baby walk the other day i was looking at tree bark and i saw something that was IMMEDIATELY apparent it was not a tilly.....i got closer and confirmed it


you can see there is also another baby on the right under the other plant root

Untitled by J Solo, on Flickr



this is the top edge of a large knot from a 20-30 inch branch that broke off


here is the other plant- the zoom makes it unbearable so this is as close as i could get it

Untitled by J Solo, on Flickr

the two are about 50 feet apart laterally and 30 apart vertically.....easily covered by pollen

[estación seca]

That's great! I wonder whether the drip irrigation tubing is for the plant?

[DirtyCoconuts]

HHaha the tubing is roots of another volunteer in the notch

[estación seca]

A strangler fig?

[DirtyCoconuts]

Most likely

I had never heard that term so I looked it up. Awesome
There are a lot of ficus and vines called that so I suspect it is

One difference I do see is this root is more draped over the host tree than latching on and I suspect it may be another semi parasitic plants

[Ben_in_North_FLA]

love to see blooming local tampensis in situ, after living in South Fla for many years I have seen many tampensis in bloom and unfortunately many are now gone. They are easy to spot, The first 2 weeks in June are prime time to spot them if you know what kind of tree they like. Its a treat to go hunting for them in parking lots and easy to access locations.

thank you for posting, next year I will mark the calendar and visit my old stomping ground and go take some pics.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Rock on

[Keysguy]

For you Florida folks.

Finally made time this morning to go for a little 2 hour hike in a spot I've been eyeing on Google Earth and it paid off.

I really never left the secondary trail I followed and I found dozens and dozens of colonies of Ency. tampensis. Too bad I won't be here to enjoy them when they bloom but it was still satisfying to find so many and in what looks to be great shape. Imagine what might be out there if I wanted to go bushwhacking? Probably not going to happen though as my aging skin took a beating from thorns as it was. I was bleeding like a stuck pig there for awhile but at least I was smart enough to have packed a towel.

Points of interest:
No no growths yet emerging.
Covered in old bloom spikes
Some seed pods. Most open, some not and those appeared to still be viable.
Preponderance were on 1 species of tree that I think was Black Mangrove but I couldn't swear. They must be ancient because they were huge.
All were between my head and knees in height on the trees

Here's a few pictures.

[Toadwally]

Florida's most wonderful orchid.

[orchidman77]

I love seeing these pictures! Amazing. Thanks for posting,

David