Dear Muthu Eulophia explanata, I have seen flowering in extreme heat of summer during June in open areas. The temperature was around 40 degree Celsius and the plant was flowering and it was perfectly healthy. Orchids need light, so in general they dont grow in shade except for some particular groups among the terrestrials. Those which grow in shades, do so for special purpose and most of them I believe dont have fully developed pigment system. Secondly, I believe that there are much more number of terrestrial ones than the epiphytic orchids. Its just that epiphytic ones are more visible that the ones on the ground. Will write more on it when I get free after sometime. Life is too hectic and kind of get tempted to write once I start :)) Take care and enjoy. Pankaj
2011/3/22 Muthu Karthick <[email protected]>: > Dear Pankaj sir, > My obsessions about Orchids are that they are mostly present in shades and > as Epiphytes and opposing this fact, the flowering of Eulopia sp. in extreme > summer due to stress making me wonder. Sharing your scientific observation > is really fruitful for us. Many thanks for the post sir. > > 2011/3/22 Dr Pankaj Kumar <[email protected]> >> >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: Pankaj Kumar <[email protected]> >> Date: Oct 8 2009, 10:32 pm >> Subject: Geodorum densiflorum – NSD 38 >> To: efloraofindia >> >> >> Dear Sir, >> >> I have made few observations during my 6 years of study some of which >> I am discussing below. >> >> Geodorums are very peculiar. A small shoot like green structure >> originates from the previous years underground corm that are present >> at the end of the chain of corms. Then at a certain point, the shoot >> bifurcates, one tip growing into foliar part and the other part >> growing into the floral axis, on the onset of monsoon (but both >> emerges from the same shoot, so at the lower end if u dig out the corm >> you will wild them covered with same foliar bracts). Sometimes, when >> the rain abruptly stops the foliar part gets stunted for the time >> being, sometimes they even die, but the floral axis gets nourishment >> from the previous years corm so it keeps growing. Thats a kind of >> successful flowering strategy in this particular orchid. So its not a >> big deal if the plant will bear leaves or not during the flowering >> period. >> >> Orchids have very peculiar growth habits. Some orchids flower in the >> stress when there is scarcity of food material whereas some flowers >> when the food material is abundant. Some orchids give both foliar and >> floral shoot whereas some gives floral first, whereas some give foliar >> first.......In orchids like some species of Eulophias >> (Eulophiaexplanata) floral stalk emerges in extreme stress, its like >> when the >> perrenating underground corms think that they can't bear it anymore >> (in the extreme heat of summer at a temperature of around 40 degree >> celsius) then they give out small callus like structure near the >> previous year's corm. The callus has usually two apices. If the stress >> persists then one apice give rise to floral stalk, where as other >> remains stunted and when it starts raining, then it becomes active to >> give foliar stalk....but if it rains abruptly, then it give foliar >> stalk and the plant doesnt flower in that year at all....... >> >> U can see a healthy flower ofEulophiaexplanatagrowing in the >> extreme heat of summer, without any leaf, when most of the other herbs >> seems to be dying off !!! >> >> ..INTERESTING NA !!! :) >> >> Regards >> Pankaj > > > > -- > Muthu Karthick, N > Care Earth Trust > #15, second main road, > Thillai ganga nagar, > Chennai - 600 061 > Mob: 0091 96268 33911 > www.careearthtrust.org > -- *********************************************** "TAXONOMISTS GETTING EXTINCT AND SPECIES DATA DEFICIENT !!" Pankaj Kumar Ph.D. (Orchidaceae) Research Associate Greater Kailash Sacred Landscape Project Department of Habitat Ecology Wildlife Institute of India Post Box # 18 Dehradun - 248001, India
