When time and funding permit, each flower (each plant species) will have its own page, and its own PDF, and eventually its own PPT so that professors and students have plenty of material on Guatemala (and Honduras, etc) to study.
Heliconia adflexa, Coban, Guatemala, Hotel Monja Blanca, FLAAR, by Nicholas Hellmuth
![]() ![]() |
| Share
|
Bibliography on Habenaria Orchid genus from the Mayan areas |
Aquatic orchids do exist, especially in Peten There are aquatic orchids in Tabasco, Campeche, and Peten. I estimate these same species of aquatic orchids also exist in Quintana Roo and Belize. Botanists have already found these orchids atop reed-like material out in rivers, lakes, swamps, and aguadas. But almost no photographs exist; photos are not the style of botanical research based on beautiful drawings, paintings, and traditional herbarium records. However there is no newspaper-flattened image of Habenaria or Bletia orchid which will show how deep into the water, or how high above the water, the bulb and roots were in that particular eco-system. Plus some aquatic orchids, such as Bletia purpurea, are also perfectly happy in terrestrial eco-systems far far far away from any river or lake (as long as there is lots of fog, drizzle, rain, and humidity much of the year). By later in 2019 we will have enough color photographs to be prepared to give PowerPoint presentations in full color to orchid societies around the world. List of Orchids from the genus Habenaria in Guatemala: The list several paragraphs below, according to Ames & Corell (1985), are the Habenaria species found in Guatemala. The first ones, in bold, are the ones that are believed can be found in Lake Yaxha and adjacent Lake Sacnab, Petén, according to the georeferenced records given by GBIF (www.gbif.org/species/2828306). We are interested in making an inventory of all orchids related to the two large lakes in Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo, Peten, Guatemala. So any Habenaria species found in Lake Peten Itza, Lake Macanche, etc, is likely to be found in a similar eco-system around the Yaxha lakes. By no means are all Habenaria species aquatic; we know one is, and would not be surprised to find a second one that is also water-related. But the one Bletia that we have found already, plus the one Habenaria repens, is plenty to document what we wish to have added in articles and monographs: aquatic orchids can be seen in Guatemala. Orchid botanist Fredy Archila is fully aware of this and we keep in touch with him. Any Habenaria species found along rivers elsewhere in Peten may possibly be alongside Rio Ixtinto (at the southwest end of Lake Yaxha, adjacent to Topoxte island). But so far no aquatic orchids along the river shore. In late October Nicholas Hellmuth found Bletia purpurea a water-related orchid which flourishes between one and two meters away from the shore. Since most people had not previously seen a “water-related orchid” they simply did not believe it. So Hellmuth and the team from FLAAR Mesoamerica returned to Yaxha in the last week of November 2018 and noted that the orchids had their roots wrapped around “tule” root masses, but at the level of the water. We found that several of the Bletia purpurea orchids had roots which were clearly down in the water. We will document this in a separate FLAAR report. The point is that there may be more than one genus of orchids of Guatemala which are associated with water. In December Hellmuth and the FLAAR Mesoamerica team returned to Yaxha to look for aquatic and riparian orchids. IDAEH-CONAP team kindly provided a boat and park rangers. We found many more areas where Bletia purpurea was flowering because this was the first time we had the boat long enough to search the northeast coast, east coast, and east part of the south coast. We also found this aquatic orchid as we entered the “far southwestern Cenote swamp-like area.” However during two days in the November field trip we did not yet found any Habenaria orchids (probably because the reeds are so thick, that unless an orchid is in full bloom they would not be noticeable). Since Bletia purpurea orchid flowers are pink or purple, they are easy to see through the dense mass of reed grass. But Habenaria flowers will be a definite challenge to find unless we can learn in which month they bloom elsewhere. Senaida Ba finds the first Habenaria repens orchid to be documented for Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo At first we estimated that Habenaria orchids will be found around the lakes and/or Rio Ixtinto in Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo. But we now realize these Habenario repens orchids often prefer swamp-like ecosystems. So far we have not found them around the shore of the lakes nor Rio Ixtinto. Instead Senaida Ba found one single Habenario repens orchid plant physically on the edge of a stagnant pool of water around the edge of the Savanna of 3 Fern Species (south of Laguna Perdida which is high on a hill). Laguna Lankaja is at much lower elevation several hundred meters to the south.
Additional species of orchids may be found near water in the future The species marked in bold may be in other moist ecosystems of Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo. But all such ecosystems are a challenge to get to (which is why no earlier botanist has yet found aquatic or water-related orchids in this park).
I estimate that several more genera of water-related orchids can also be found in the diverse water-related ecosystems of Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo. If you are an orchid lover or member of an orchid society, FLAAR is a tax exempt research and educational institute, and your donation could make it possible for us to find even more water-related orchids. You and your family could also join us on the search, either in-person, or via video that we can send back from our field trips. Your entire orchid society can have a guided tour to the orchids of our part of Guatemala (there are hundreds more orchids up in the trees, as well as terrestrial orchids). There is a nice hotel available at the entrance to the park.
PDF, Articles, Books on Habenaria orchids
Suggested webpages with photos and information on Habenaria orchids from Yaxha
https://goorchids.northamericanorchidcenter.org/
www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2017/1/30/aquatic-orchids
https://listadeorquideasmexicanas.blogspot.com/2012/11/habenaria-crassicornis.html
www.orchidspecies.com/habbractescens.htm
https://listadeorquideasmexicanas.blogspot.com/2012/11/habenaria-crassicornis.html
www.orchidspecies.com/habmonorhizza.htm
https://goorchids.northamericanorchidcenter.org/species/habenaria/repens/
www.orchidspecies.com/habstrictissima.htm
Updated August 2019;
previously updated January 2, 2019 |