I ~ Indian Pipe

 Monotropa uniflora


Indian Pipe is one of the oddest flowers of the woods. They are completely without chlorophyll and obtain nutrients by connecting to the roots of conifers using fungi. Conifer roots that are exposed on in a hillside are the best place to hunt for the pipes. Waxy white is the most common color but occasionally you find pink pipes . I have found the odd saprophytes and charming orchids of our region have been an exciting branch of plant study.  Often a certain amount of sleuthing and just a touch of luck is required for a find.

Like Here, Only Different ~ Tra La the Flowers of Winter

Technically it is Winter now in Las Piedras.  There were few flowering shrubs or vines about and I imagine those that do bloom, do so high in the treetops.  The walking paths were often littered with individual blossoms blown down.

So here is a bit of random pretty.

The end of a Banana Tree blossom.

Hibiscus

Dry and sleepy looking, don't you think?

These were particularly common.  I thought they were Balsa but I understand Balsa blooms white.

This was blooming along a main trail.  I saw it as we returned to camp one day and never saw it again.  It looks like the stamens are loaded with sugar droplets.  I am sure a butterfly moth or hummingbird found this most wonderful.

This has some characteristic of a Rosa sp.

Not sure if this is a seed pod or a flower.

These blossoms were everywhere on the jungle floor.

Like Here, Only Different ~ Orchids for Ron

Anyone who has spent time here on my blog knows my growing affection for orchids, particularly our native terrestrial orchids.

My interest was sparked via contact with Ron Hanko who has a couple blogs, including one about his home grown orchids. 

I was keenly aware of the potential for finding orchids while in Peru but I was not too sure how much I could discover.  A majority of orchids grow high in or on trees.  Thinking along these lines, most downed logs I encountered got a once-over as best I could.

As we walked the trails I found orchid plants that had blown out of trees, though none of them were in bloom.  I placed some of these bundles onto logs of downed trees in hope that they might set their roots.

One downed and disintegrating log allowed the collection of a few unfortunate small orchids for a possible culture and rehoming.

At home base, many of the trees held orchids that were found as knockdown rescues.  One tree supported some small, natural orchids.  Here, for my friend Ron, some of the little gems.

On a home tree, several of these were in bloom.

Ron, is this a Masdevallia???!?

Ron says this is Trigoniodium acuminatum


In another small tree, these appeared to be growing naturally.  Of course, they were out of reach and yellow, that cursed color for photography.  They remind me of Oncidium.  Their leaves were small and arrayed like a palm fan.

Ron says they are Psygmorchis pusilla.  They were wonderful!

Lastly, on a fallen tree I found this in bloom.  Deep in the understory, this color was tricky with my shaky hands and sometimes steamy camera lens.  I tried to capture these pale blooms several times.  Are these an Epidendrum?  Ron says yes they are but cannot tell the species.

The flowers were amazingly tiny at the end of long spikes.

I was sorry to not find more orchids, but had great pleasure finding those I did.

For those who appreciate great photography and the wonderful world of orchids, Rons Blogs are a feast for the eyes. His Orchids in Bloom represent his home cultured orchids, many of them from South America.

http://orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/

http://nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/

Rons Ramblings around the Pacific Northwest

http://ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/

Kubota Garden in the Spring

I took advantage of a relatively mild day and visited Kubota Garden. I have not seen this lovely place in the early Spring. I also had "garden" as a topic for my monthly scavenger hunt. This seemed the best place to be. It was a tough choice but the view of Mr Kubotas Heart Bridge was my favorite shot.

I arrived quite early and there were already many cars in the parking lot. I noted that there had been a sale the previous day. I am sorry to have missed that as there is certainly someone I could have bought a pretty plant for. The Kubota Foundation raises money to help support the park and they also need to gather volunteers to take care of the hours upon hours of weeding and maintenance that this park deserves. Next weekend is a Japanese Maple Festival with lectures and tours.

I was dazzled by the variety of maples and astonished at how many of them come into their leaves without green color. This lovely maple near the Heart Bridge was stunning in the weak sun glow.

Takes my breath away.

Last October, when I visited it was green.

Some maples have variegated leaves, others have dramatic bark colors.

There was a lot of blooms both small flowers and big trees. As expected many Azaleas and Rhodies. Some were already past bloom, but some are quite tightly budded and will be wonderful in a week. I had a bit of fun capturing rain drops on different subjects.

Hosta is coming up everywhere.

There were a lot of forget-me-not and a large purple flower that is in the same family as our native Self-heal. I rounded a corner and was greeted by this.

A Purple Tide. It made me think of waves.

This Song Sparrow could not stop singing.

I could not possibly grow tired of this place. It is ever changing.