# Authority on Peruvian orchids?



## kentuckiense (Dec 30, 2015)

Hey everyone. I apologize for not visiting the forum in, uh, three years (121236 unread posts!)

I just got back from two weeks in Peru. I photographed a few dozen orchids, but I'm having some trouble with identification. For instance, I photographed four different species within the terrestrial genus Pterichis, but only two of them were readily identifiable. The other two do not match any material I can find on line. It seems like a lot of Pterichis species are really only known from their type specimens. Similarly, I photographed a member of the genus Aa (yep, that's the genus), but the two resources I have provide wildly different photos for Aa rosei.

Do any of you have any contacts in the region that could be of any help? Most of my photos are from the Andes, but I do have a few from the Amazon basin (Tambopata River). Unfortunately the Terrestrial Orchid Forum has been down for years and doesn't seem to be coming back.

I also have a handful of Epidendrum that I'd be happy to post if others want to take a crack at them.

Thanks!


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## NYEric (Dec 30, 2015)

gonewild, Andy Philips, ...welcome back.


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## troy (Dec 30, 2015)

Post the pictures!!! The whole trip!!!! Everybody likes to go on vacation!!!!


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## Justin (Dec 31, 2015)

Leon Glicenstein. I will PM you his email.


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## gonewild (Dec 31, 2015)

You should have come by for lunch if you were in the Tambopata.


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## gonewild (Dec 31, 2015)

Unfortunately a lot of the online IDs for Peruvian species are not accurate.
Eric Christianson was trying to sort out the mess before he passed away. I had sent him a huge amount of images and he was in the process of identification, all disappeared. 
One thing he did say was that a lot of what I showed him were new undescribed species (in his opinion). 

This might help you:
http://www.clubperuanodeorquideas.com/galeria.php

Recently in the last few years a really good photo book was published on Peruvian orchids.... really expensive and I did not buy it.

Alfredo Manrique has a lot of knowledge about Peruvian species. If you send him a photo he probably can help ID it.


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## gonewild (Dec 31, 2015)

http://www.yorkstreet.com/orchids/


I have a set of books(3) published in the 60s which is a key for Peruvian orchids. You can find it online:

http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/2394#/summary

Of course not as many species were known then and many names have changed. But often you can find species ID that are not known to hobbyists in it. At least it is fun to try.

Very little research has been done on orchids in the Tambopata area. About 12 years ago an expert botanist of the area told me there were less than 50 orchid species in the lowland forest of Madre de Dios. I took him into our garden and showed him over 200 different species I had collected over a 3 year period. He just stared. Then he said it was easier with only 50.


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## NYEric (Dec 31, 2015)

Now that's typical!


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## kentuckiense (Dec 31, 2015)

Lance, I thought of you but for some reason thought you were in northeast Peru. I actually flew into PM before catching a canoe up the Tambopata. Next time! I'll try to post a couple Tampobata photos today. One is of a mystery terrestrial (maybe Microchilus) and the other is a very large Habenaria from an oxbow lake.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk


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## gonewild (Dec 31, 2015)

kentuckiense said:


> Lance, I thought of you but for some reason thought you were in northeast Peru. I actually flew into PM before catching a canoe up the Tambopata. Next time! I'll try to post a couple Tampobata photos today. One is of a mystery terrestrial (maybe Microchilus) and the other is a very large Habenaria from an oxbow lake.
> 
> Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk



A couple years ago we were in North Peru for a short time but moved back to PEM area. What lodge did you go to?


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## kentuckiense (Dec 31, 2015)

Tambopata Ecolodge. Our guide, Delford, was a fantastic birder.

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## gonewild (Dec 31, 2015)

kentuckiense said:


> Tambopata Ecolodge. Our guide, Delford, was a fantastic birder.
> 
> Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk



Very nice area up there. Did you go to Chuncho Colppa to see the Macaws?


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## kentuckiense (Dec 31, 2015)

gonewild said:


> Very nice area up there. Did you go to Chuncho Colppa to see the Macaws?



I wish! Unfortunately, we only had the bare-bones tour package (it was part of a larger tour). Had we known how enamored we would be with the area, we would've definitely nixed our extra days in Lima and ponied up for some more in-depth tours of the area. As a consolation, we at least got to see three different macaw species flying over head. The blue and gold macaw eluded us, though.


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## gonewild (Dec 31, 2015)

kentuckiense said:


> I wish! Unfortunately, we only had the bare-bones tour package (it was part of a larger tour). Had we known how enamored we would be with the area, we would've definitely nixed our extra days in Lima and ponied up for some more in-depth tours of the area. As a consolation, we at least got to see three different macaw species flying over head. The blue and gold macaw eluded us, though.



Call me next time and I take you some places.


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