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Myrmecophelia or Schombergkia ????


I have posted a number of my orchids as they were blooming over the years. The first orchid I was ever given was identified to me by a friend, who later gifted me several other orchids.

He identified this first orchid as a Schombergkia. As a result, over the years, as I received other orchids and upon observing their blooms have identified them as Schombergkias as well.




Last year, after a visit with Joann Andrews, a local orchid expert, she informed me that many Schombergkias (Schom) had been reclassified as Myrmecophelias (Myrme); OKAY yeah, whatever... I'm not that big a stickler for details. (Myrmecophila with means 'Friends of Ants'. In the wild there is a species of ants that nests in the hollow pseudobulb of this orchid. The ants eat all the insects that would attack the plant and the plant provides them a home in return.)

So today, Jim, of Naturalist Newsletter, posted info and photos of an orchid he encountered down in the Mahahual area. I emailed him and we started a discussion on Schom vs Myrme. OKAY, OKAY, I need to step up and realize that probably most of my Schoms are really Myrmes. I need to check the pseudobulbs, and if the are hollow then they are indeed Myrmecophelia.

Gads! There's always something needs to be done!