# Wild Peruvian Orchids a short hike in San Martin



## gonewild (Aug 18, 2013)

A short hike through the Rainforest at 1050 meters altitude. This is the elevation where orchid populations begin to become dense. My intent is to show how the orchids grow in nature continuing to look aat their nutrition source.


----------



## gonewild (Aug 18, 2013)




----------



## gonewild (Aug 18, 2013)




----------



## gonewild (Aug 18, 2013)




----------



## gonewild (Aug 18, 2013)




----------



## gonewild (Aug 18, 2013)




----------



## SlipperFan (Aug 18, 2013)

Thanks, Lance. I will never have the chance to see orchids in the wild like this. I really appreciate your photos.


----------



## NYEric (Aug 18, 2013)

Thanks for sharing. that terrestrial w/ the white blooms is great. What was the temp there?


----------



## abax (Aug 19, 2013)

Perhaps I'm wrong, but it looks like a lot of bird and insect poop for
nutrition. I enjoyed the photos very much. Thank you.


----------



## Trithor (Aug 19, 2013)

Thank you for the armchair hike. I didn't even get my shoes wet or dirty.
There is a lot more lichen than I thought there would be.


----------



## Dido (Aug 19, 2013)

great pic many thanks for sharing with us


----------



## Stone (Aug 19, 2013)

Thanks for the pics Lance. One things for sure--there's no water shortage!


----------



## gonewild (Aug 19, 2013)

NYEric said:


> Thanks for sharing. that terrestrial w/ the white blooms is great. What was the temp there?



Day temperature was about 25c nights below 20c. River water temperature was 15c.


----------



## gonewild (Aug 19, 2013)

abax said:


> Perhaps I'm wrong, but it looks like a lot of bird and insect poop for
> nutrition. I enjoyed the photos very much. Thank you.



I think you might be thinking all the white stuff is bird poop, it is not. All the white splashes are lichens. Almost every leaf has lichen growing on it.
Insect poop is probably a huge nutrient source, but consider they are feeding on the moss and lichens and pass on nutrients from them.

This forest has a tremendous amount of bird species but not near enough birds to fertilize all the plants.


----------



## gonewild (Aug 19, 2013)

Trithor said:


> There is a lot more lichen than I thought there would be.



More than I thought also. Once I started looking at lichens I still can't find an orchid that does not have them associated. Lichens are much more important to the environment than anything else. They grow on rock and by chemical excretion convert solid rock to topsoil! They are known to secrete over 600 different chemical compounds.....
So it makes "logical" sense that lichens secrete nutrient compounds for orchids. I used to think lichens were a problem for plants because they grow on the plants but now I see the relationship as a perfect symbiosis.


----------



## NYEric (Aug 19, 2013)

Thanks for the info. Are there lot of leeches?  BTW, I see where this is going!! :wink:


----------



## gonewild (Aug 19, 2013)

Stone said:


> Thanks for the pics Lance. One things for sure--there's no water shortage!



And it is the dry season!


----------



## gonewild (Aug 19, 2013)

NYEric said:


> Thanks for the info. Are there lot of leeches?  BTW, I see where this is going!! :wink:



I have never seen a leach here in 15 years!
No malaria either.... oke:


----------



## KyushuCalanthe (Aug 19, 2013)

Neat Lance, thanks for the tour. I agree about lichens being integral to orchid nutrition/well being. Every epiphytic orchid or fern I've seen growing here (or Florida) had lichens associated with it - even twig epiphytes. Moss as well provides a good growing medium and of course retains water while maintaining an "airy" texture to the substrate - perfect for many epiphytes.



gonewild said:


> I have never seen a leach here in 15 years!
> No malaria either.... oke:



And who knows what fun things lurk on the streets of NYC... :rollhappy:


----------



## TyroneGenade (Aug 19, 2013)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that lichen can fix atmospheric nitrogen?


----------



## Rick (Aug 19, 2013)

gonewild said:


> I think you might be thinking all the white stuff is bird poop, it is not. All the white splashes are lichens. Almost every leaf has lichen growing on it.
> Insect poop is probably a huge nutrient source, but consider they are feeding on the moss and lichens and pass on nutrients from them.
> 
> This forest has a tremendous amount of bird species but not near enough birds to fertilize all the plants.




Yes a nutrient pyramid. The birds are eating the insects that don't get a chance to poop, and the plants/fruits that the insects miss. 

So all non carbon nutrition is from the ground up (except for some of the nitrogen sucked out of the air from the nitrogen fixers in the lichens and moss assemblages).

As Stone noted, there is no shortage of water, and I would wager no shortage of CO2. So that covers 99% of what the plants need anyway.

How much of the green is dangerous to touch Lance? Things that cut, prick, cause rashes, and burns? It's green almost beyond belief:drool:


----------



## gonewild (Aug 19, 2013)

TyroneGenade said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that lichen can fix atmospheric nitrogen?



Yes Lichens fix nitrogen. But not all species of lichens fix nitrogen.
I'm not an expert on lichens but doing a lot of reading and it seems they obtain most of their nutrients from the atmosphere.


----------



## gonewild (Aug 19, 2013)

Rick said:


> Yes a nutrient pyramid. The birds are eating the insects that don't get a chance to poop, and the plants/fruits that the insects miss.
> 
> So all non carbon nutrition is from the ground up (except for some of the nitrogen sucked out of the air from the nitrogen fixers in the lichens and moss assemblages).



It looks like lichens fix a lot more than just nitrogen. 



> As Stone noted, there is no shortage of water, and I would wager no shortage of CO2. So that covers 99% of what the plants need anyway.



It looks like lichens provide most of the other 1%. But what form do the provide the nutrients in? I think the ratios of the nutrients will wind up conforming with the leaf litter but maybe not the quantity available. 



> How much of the green is dangerous to touch Lance? Things that cut, prick, cause rashes, and burns? It's green almost beyond belief:drool:



Only a small percentage of plants are dangerous by way of chemicals. But a lot will cut or stab you. When trekking through the jungle always cut a path with machete. Trying to squeeze through can hurt. I manage to almost always wear a T shirt and rarely get scratched or bit. If you get scratched there are plenty of friendly green plants to fix the injury.
The green is intense, especially in the cloud forests where everything is dripping with moss!


----------

