treefrog
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone,
I have been a member of the Slippertalk communities since 2009. At that time, I was living in Montreal, CANADA (see my first post presentation here: Hi from Montréal - Canada) and I had a small collection of slipper orchids.
In 2011, I moved to Tarapoto PERU where I stayed for 7 years investigating the evolution of poison dart frogs and butterflies. This amazing opportunity in life led me to many incredible moments finding and discovering wild Phragmipedium in Peru and even collaborating for their population management.
Unfortunately, a few weeks after one of the kovachii population assessments in 2014, I was badly wounded by a poacher shotgun trap in the middle of the forest. I realize my last post in this forum corresponds exactly to that period….I guess the sequels were worse than I realized. Since it has been so long, I taught I was due for a recap presentation.
Since then, in 2019 I moved to Cayenne in French Guiana to continue investigating Amazonian biodiversity. French Guiana is a weird place! It is a French department (part of Europe) in the middle of the Amazon….and the only place in Amazon where you can have good wine, cheese and charcuterie!
Only two slipper orchids are present in French Guiana: the litophytic Phragmipedium lindleyanum and the mysterious epiphytic Phragmipedium guianense. While I saw populations of the first, I still have to find the later in the remote forests of the inside. I have a few expeditions planned this year so with luck I might have some good pictures to share with the community. Also, I don’t forget about the Selenipedium!
After moving around South America for the last 10 years, I finally settled in French Guiana and I’m currently building my shade/green- house to start again growing slipper orchids (other orchids too)! The climate here is simply perfect for growing most slipper orchids (except highland species and, of course, cypripedium). The only difficulty so far is for finding the cultivated slipper orchids in French Guiana. With a demography of only 250 000 inhabitants, finding slipper orchid aficionados is extremely difficult/impossible. Luckily for me, French Guiana is part of Europe, and as such there are no restrictions for importing orchids…..but no nursery wants to ship them here either (transport delays are too long). I’m currently investigating how to acquire plants when I travel to Europe. So, a good plant hunting ahead of me!
Cheers,
Mathieu
I have been a member of the Slippertalk communities since 2009. At that time, I was living in Montreal, CANADA (see my first post presentation here: Hi from Montréal - Canada) and I had a small collection of slipper orchids.
In 2011, I moved to Tarapoto PERU where I stayed for 7 years investigating the evolution of poison dart frogs and butterflies. This amazing opportunity in life led me to many incredible moments finding and discovering wild Phragmipedium in Peru and even collaborating for their population management.
Unfortunately, a few weeks after one of the kovachii population assessments in 2014, I was badly wounded by a poacher shotgun trap in the middle of the forest. I realize my last post in this forum corresponds exactly to that period….I guess the sequels were worse than I realized. Since it has been so long, I taught I was due for a recap presentation.
Since then, in 2019 I moved to Cayenne in French Guiana to continue investigating Amazonian biodiversity. French Guiana is a weird place! It is a French department (part of Europe) in the middle of the Amazon….and the only place in Amazon where you can have good wine, cheese and charcuterie!
Only two slipper orchids are present in French Guiana: the litophytic Phragmipedium lindleyanum and the mysterious epiphytic Phragmipedium guianense. While I saw populations of the first, I still have to find the later in the remote forests of the inside. I have a few expeditions planned this year so with luck I might have some good pictures to share with the community. Also, I don’t forget about the Selenipedium!
After moving around South America for the last 10 years, I finally settled in French Guiana and I’m currently building my shade/green- house to start again growing slipper orchids (other orchids too)! The climate here is simply perfect for growing most slipper orchids (except highland species and, of course, cypripedium). The only difficulty so far is for finding the cultivated slipper orchids in French Guiana. With a demography of only 250 000 inhabitants, finding slipper orchid aficionados is extremely difficult/impossible. Luckily for me, French Guiana is part of Europe, and as such there are no restrictions for importing orchids…..but no nursery wants to ship them here either (transport delays are too long). I’m currently investigating how to acquire plants when I travel to Europe. So, a good plant hunting ahead of me!
Cheers,
Mathieu
!
