Looking for Colombia orchids

[JungleWriter]

In July, I am off to Colombia on a biological survey expedition. Among other things, we are looking to document wild orchid species in our conservation area.

I'd so much appreciate any thoughts, ideas or suggestions on how to get the most out of this trip!

If you're interested in our projects, here's a link: Colombia orchids and hummingbirds

[golforchid]

If you don't already know him, I would suggest you make contact with Gary Meyer of Colombian Orchid Imports. He's traveled extensively in Colombia and has a great deal of expertise in the genus Dracula.
gary@colombianorchidimports.com

[JungleWriter]

Thank you golforchid, that's a great tip.

[Tindomul]

Very cool. Regretably even though I was born in Colombia I am ashamed to say I know nothing about the wildlife/plants of Colombia except what I have read. I really really wish I could spend a year walking around the mountains of Colombia, botanizing and birding, butterflying, etc......
Good luck, and hope I can do something like this in the future.
PS, the picture of the hummingbird on your website shows the humming bird perched on what looks like Cavendishia allenii which is a tropical blueberry.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You may try to contact Andrea Niessen or Juan Carlos Uribe from Orquideas del Valle. They're located in Cali, Colombia. They may be able to help you out more.

I'm sure that you'll find tons of Pleuorthallis spp., Lepanthes spp., Dracula spp., and Masdevallia spp. in the middle to high elevation montane forests and cloud forests.

Dichaea spp. would be more difficult to spot as they don't look like orchids from a glance. They resemble fern fronds, but they're not fern. I'm sure they exist in Colombia in the places that you guys go to. They also tend to be some of the most poorly documented group of orchids to date. I mean, the scientific information available to the general public on this genus of orchids is practically dribble.

You might come across some sparse populations of terrestrial orchids too. Of note would probably be those of the genus Govenia. They appear all throughout South America, particularly in the high Andes in areas that you frequent, approx 1,500 m - 2,500 m, and in some cases 3,000 m. Govenia are seasonal terrestrials and will only emerge vegetatively during a certain portion of the year. It's possible some may be in bloom or putting out spikes at this time of year in the southern hemisphere.

Teaugiea spp. are also high Andes orchids that typically appear around 1,500 m on up.

Telipogon spp. are also typically found in areas of around 2,000 m and up, with a tiny few being found in lower elevations of around 1,500 m. In fact, since the plot of land that you guys have purchased is near Antioquia, Colombia, there may be a chance you may encounter Telipogon antioquianus.

More showy types of orchids that occur around the areas you guys frequent that may be of interest are orchids in the genus Maxillaria. Particularly Maxillaria from a particular section that includes species such as Maxillaria nutans. Of course Maxillaria speciosa would also be a cool find.

These are but a few orchids I can think of off the top of my head that appear in areas you guys normally go into and look for hummingbirds.

[RJSquirrel]

colombia is right next to afghanistan on my list of places to visit and die..good luck.

[Tindomul]

You can't compare Colombia to Afghanistan. Yes, there is violence, yes there are drugs and revolutionary and counter revolutionary forces to deal with. However, the majority of the country is safe. Colombia has a thriving eco tourism industry attracting (for example) bird watchers from all around the world. Bird watching societies would never even go there if they thought it was as dangerous as that.
The people are nice, fun and most importantly there are no religious extremists in charge (at least none with much power). No one is going to excute you just because your a foreigner. If you go into the mountains by your self, and loudly proclaim how much money you and your family have, or how much you hate the revolutionary forces, then yea, good luck to you. But if you keep some common sense, travel in groups etc... well as they say;
The only risk is wanting to stay.

Colombia is the most biodiverse nation in the world in terms of
Birds
Frogs
Plants
habitats

it would rank pretty high in diversity of ecosystems and fish and anything else you wish to list.
No ill will against you RJSquirrel, just had to defend the place.

[Tindomul]

Also, the website in the link asks for money. Jungle writer, no insult intended towards you or your organization, but I have to warn my fellow orchid boarders to be very very very careful when donating. As of now, we have no proof that the website is legit.

[JungleWriter]

Wonderful comments and insights! Thank you everyone for your thoughts.

Thank you King of Orchid Growing for your detailed biological information. I'll convey your info to the team, so we can be especially alert for the genera you mention.

RJSquirrel, I have been traveling to South America since 1992 (wrote two travel guides to the Amazon rainforest) and never had a problem, except with minor theft attempts (both in Ecuador). Our team has been visiting remote areas of Colombia since 2008, researching high biodiversity areas for conservation. We've never encountered anything except hospitality, goodwill and kindness. I don't deny the country has problems. Which country doesn't? But in my experience a big city in the US poses at least as much risk as traveling in Colombia. As Tindomul suggests, staying out of trouble is largely common sense. And again, that is true anywhere.

Tindomul, I appreciate your note to Orchidboard members to be wary when considering donating to any solicitation. I entirely agree, considering the spammers and other undesirables roaming these pages. That said, I can assure you that we are legitimate. I am on this forum because of my love of orchids and the places wild orchids grow. But anyone who'd like to support our efforts to conserve areas where wild orchids grow in Colombia is welcome to email us directly, and I will forward that email to Dr. Stuart Pimm of Duke University who will reply personally. (Please Google Stuart Pimm if you want to know who he is.) At present our payments are processed by the Environmental Media Association, a well-known Hollywood-based non-profit. Our own non-profit application is under review by the IRS, as we are looking for greater independence.

We are a small start-up conservation organization looking to find new ways to conserve biodiversity in the world's special areas. Unlike Conservation International, WWF and Nature Conservancy, we spend all donations on purchasing land on behalf of NGOs, and none on overhead such as Washington lobbyists and expensive offices. So we do need to ask for people's trust as we grow and remain faithful to our ideals of conservation that works to save species.