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Oliver,
I was not being critical of your post, but merely
gave another perspective of Phragmipedium habitats in Peru.
The pictures you refer us to at URL
http://www.trekperu.org/travel02.html.
are absolutely wonderful; congratulations!!
Picture # 3 shows a patch of Phragmipedium
boissieranum (note spelling) photographed in sunlight, which is no
proof they grow in full sun all day.
South facing cliffs and walls of
East West Valleys, or along East West roads, shaded most of the day, may
receive sunlight in the early morning and late afternoon; thus
Phragmipediums growing on them can be
photographed in sunlight.
The long leaf shadows, down and to the left
of one P. boissieranum in the # 3 picture, more than
likely indicate that this plant was photographed on a south facing
wall, or cliff, early in the morning.
Travelling all day from Moyobamba to
Chachapoyas, searching the steep cliffs and walls along the road for orchids, we
only found one patch of Phragmipedium boissieranum, though off road
they grow like weeds wherever there is sufficient moisture for them.
This single patch perhaps 10 x 10 meters, was on the south facing black "rock"
wall (hardened thin layer of clay like substance) near the 405 km marker. I
was climbing on that black
"rock," to reach a huge clump of
Phragmipedium boissieranum about 2 meters up, when all of a sudden the
"rock" gave way and I came down with it, sliding on and exposing
the wet clay below it.
( No, the orchids did not come
down.)
That clay remains wet from water that runs below
the surface in that particular location. The Phragmipedium roots are in the
clay, or in pockets of debris on its dried hard surface. Phragmipediums
which grow in pockets of debris on these "rocks" often have long roots
growing out over the exposed surface, for these roots are shaded and
not dehydrated and killed by the sun.
Thanks again for the super pictures Oliver,
they an excellent window on travelling in Northern Peru.
peter
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