orchids etc in Tulum, Mexico

[stefpix]

I just got back. I did not have time to update much as I did not have wifi in my room and I had places to see.

I went on a 2 hour walk in the jungle near grand cenote. an Aztec artist that owns a plot of land took me to show me hidden caves and cenotes. Not too bad with mosquitos and insects. It is interesting to see how many trees, branches in the jungle fall down. some probably because are shaded by taller trees or maybe because near cenotes the terrain may be loose. I saw a few fallen trees that were backbudding from the horizontal trunk. Lots of Tillandsias and Anthuriums and those rat tail / terete leaf Oncidiums. There are more orchids near cents (sinkholes/ caves / underground rivers). by a cenote the climate is way cooler and more humid than a few feet away. And usually there is a depression of the terrain that shields from the wind. I saw lots of Vanilla (not sure what species). Will post photos and videos later. I need to edit quite a bit of stuff.

Armando, who took me to the jungle collected some orchids fallen to the ground and he puts them on his cleared plot on trees. Some orchids in the jungle grow in deep shade and will never probably bloom.

The ones I saw thriving best outside people private homes or restaurants are Myrmecophylas. But too much sun in Tulum outside the jungle seems to kill them. Senior lady had beautiful specimens on trees outside here house shade by a canopy of a tree.

I think clearing the thick jungle to build condos and gated communities with private streets for foreigners destroys more than collecting fallen orchids. I am sure the locals collected orchids for centuries to beautify their homes. Yet some collect only those that are fallen to the ground. Most Brassavolas I have seen had seedpods. So probably they get easily propagated.

But probably some people have no idea about dividing plants. Person from hotel that has some wildorchids in the garden thought if you get a PB of a clump of a Catasetum the orchid will die, yet there was a log with a bone dry dead Oncidium.

[stefpix]

some more shots

[stefpix]

I wonder what are those palms that grow in deep shade - also in prev post that yellow terete leaf Oncidium bloomed in a quite shaded spot. and it was 1 pm. or 2 pm. But some were really in darker spots and low .