Orchids in the state of Goiás

[renata]

The state of Goiás is located in the heart of Brazilian Central Plateau, between depressions, valleys and plateaus. At east and south we have the higher altitudes, above 1200 meters. Lower altitudes occur in the western regions. (Picture 1, the one that's on the attached images item)

The climate in the State of Goiás is tropical semi-humid. Basically, there are two well-defined seasons: rainy summer (October to April) and a dry winter (May to September). When I say dry, I mean it. Humidity can decrease till 13% (last year)… Great for flowering nobile type Dendrobiuns, hehe (cold and dry)… On the other hand, summer is pretty rainy, people growing orchids without covering (letting rain) often have fungal problems. I can go through 10 days without watering some plants in plastic pots. Mean temperatures vary from 18º to 26º C, with an expressive thermal amplitude with respect to the prevailing regime in the high plateaus, which form a great part of Goiás. The higher temperatures (Max. 39ºC) are registered between September and October, while lower temperatures can reach 4ºC between May and July.

Goiás territory presents typical vegetation called Cerrado (Picture 2, the first thumbnail), wich is in fact the regional name given to the brazilian savannas, including about 20% of the country. Soil is generally very old, poor and deep. The typical landscape is extensive savanna-like formations, intercepted by small forests along river courses and valleys. However, other types of vegetation may occur in this region, like wet fields, buriti palms and others. Generally, orchids can be found in these small forest next to river courses, lakes and water falls, wich are very frequent. On the other hand, some of them are terrestrial, standing almost in full sun (Cyrtopodium) and epiphytic that also can stand lots of light, like Shomburgkia.

Cerrado trees are very peculiar, with twisted trunks, covered by a thick layer of cork. The cork enables them to survive and grow after the seasonal fires, which often occur in the dry season. Maybe that’s why C.walkerianas and C.nobiliors adapt so well to tree slabs, specially corky ones…They also can’t stand too much water in their roots for too long, preferring more air humidity…The trees also have deep root system and may present subterranean organ to stock some water and nutrients. The following picture was taken by a colleague of a national forum, showing C. walkeriana in trees (Picture 3).

But they can also be found in rocks under full sun…(Picture 4)

The underground has lots of water, although soil is acid, with high content of aluminum and poor. Because of these factors, some trees lose part of their leaves so that the root system may search for water deep within the ground. That means that an orchid in these conditions must be able to get lots of light almost full sun…C. nobilior is one of them, especially the ‘amalie’ variety…
The main rivers are: Paranaíba, Aporé, Araguaia, São Marcos, Corumbá, Claro, Paranã e Maranhão.

NATIVE ORCHID SPECIES OF GOIÁS

In Brazil, you can find orchids basically in every state, although not every one of them will be so ornamental like a cattleya. Some species occur in more than one state, presenting significant differentiations from one area to another…I have a walkeriana from Minas Gerais that don’t support as much direct light as the other one from Cerrado. Here are some of the most frequent plants orchid growers like to have in their collections. Some of them I’ll post photos of the flower or habitat, but I’d like to remember that not all of them are my plants or photos, I’m just posting them to illustrate better the topics…

-Among the catts, there are:

Cattleya bicolor (pic 5, from Index)
Cattleya walkeriana (mine, picture 6)
Cattleya nobilior. (this is a photo of the 2006 EXPO, pic 7)

-There are lots of Cyrtopodiums, the one in the picture 8 is a saint-legerianum, they are terrestrials
- Also there are Microlaelia lundii, Encyclia, Epidendrum, Galeandra, Habenaria, Ionopsis, Maxiallaria, Oncidium, Schomburgkia and Vanilla.

P.S.: Well, please remember this is a very “shy” report, but hope I could bring some interesting information…For more orchid names, take a look at the site Brazilian Orchids

See ya!

[patlee]

Beautifully done This was very informative--kind of like a National Geographic thing without the TV,LOL. You brought to light some great info and the pictures of the orchids are absolutely gorgeous--especially the last photo. Thanks for sharing...

[Vincent]

Excellent, Renata - thanks for posting that! I have been fascinated by Brazilian orchid habitats for a long time, especially those where bifoliate Cattleyas occur.

[arleneg]

Renata,

Thank you for posting all that information and link. I have several Laelia species and hybrids. Now, I'm more educated about their culture and hope I can successfully grow them all.

[Brooke]

Renata thank you so much for the brief tour of your home area. It certainly helps me understand the culture on many of my orchids so hopefully I can make them grow better.

I love the pictures of your orchids and hope you post more of them in the future. I really NEED a C. nobilior - I mean REALLY REALLY need one.

Brooke

[JLu]

Renata thank you so much!!

When I asked you to tell us about your country, I had no idea you would do such a wonderful job. I never got to the Cerrado areas during my Brazilian stay (except to fly over). I guess I missed a lot. The closest I got to your landscape (though not close geographically) was Campinas. I guess I crossed the central plateau in a 747 in going from Sao Paulo to Manaus. Can't see much detail from 35000 feet. Had no problem picking out the Amazon though!!

Thanks for your information. I look forward to more from you. I will be sending the article as soon as I solve a little computer problem.

[solay]

Wow, thank you so much for all the wonderful info. I think I'd like to visit Brazil one of these days. I love the picture with the tree branches full of purple blooms. Amazing!

[renata]

Hi, everyone!!!!
I'm so glad you all liked the thread, this was a sugestion from JLu....I wish I had more experience in growing orchids to share, but since I don't.....at least I can do a little research, I'm learning a lot from it too!!!!!!!
I'll try next weekend to post a thread on Espírito Santo and its orchids, some of you may have some....maybe sooner if I don't travel this week....
Thank you so much: Patlee, Vincent (hopefully next thread we'll have more bifoliates), Arleneg, Brooke (nobilior are beautiful, I'm still choosing one to buy), JLu, Solay
Don't forget to call me if you're ever in Brazil, hehehehe.....

[patticake]

renata,- WOW!!! What a great article! I love the pictures, too! The tree filled with orchids... just beautiful! Thank you so much!

[JLu]

One thing to add to renta's explanation about the exploration of the Amazonas rain forest...Europeans lived in Manaus in the late 1800's. About 700 of them participated in the collection of latex from rubber trees. They built an Opera House that is today a tourist destination. It held (guess what) about 700 people. Google Manaus Opera House to see this amazing building that is 1000 miles up the Amazon in a city unreachable by any road. The Opera House was built in 1896 and the presence of Europeans in the local forest allowed some exploration for orchids and other stuff. That's when the local two Catt species were found.

While visiting the Opera House, I met an Australian couple who were backpacking across South America. They started in Sao Paulo and walked up through the grasslands of the Brazilian central plateau (which I think is called the Brazilian Shield). Then intersected the Amazon and proceeded westward to Manaus. They intended to continue west to Iquitos, Peru and beyond. Iquitos is another 1000 miles west of Manaus. Since ocean going vessels can travel as far as Iquitos, it means the Amazon is navigable for 2000 miles without any damns/locks and such.

Anyway, my point is that European explorers have had access to the area for well over 100 years. Renata is certainly correct in saying that overall exploration is limited. As was on the news recently, there are several isolated tribes that have no contact with the outside world. In the news videos they were pointing arrows at the plane from which they were being taped. So some exploration and far from complete.

[Brooke]

Renata you said the Cerrado trees have a cork bark - is this the same cork I buy here for mounts?

Brooke

[Greenhouse Gal]

Renata,
That was a very nice write-up. Thank you for taking the time to share with us.

[BillC]

Hi Renata, I was fascinated by your article on Brazil and delighted by the pics of the orchids. I hope to see many more. Thank you.

Bill

[renata]

Originally Posted by Brooke

Renata you said the Cerrado trees have a cork bark - is this the same cork I buy here for mounts?

Brooke

Hi, Brooke!
I think so, at least it must be similar! Maybe that's why the walkerianas and nobiliors grow so well when mounted...if they're given the humidity they need....This cork layer is protective against seazonal fires, the tree branches become twisted because these fires burn their growing tips and the new growths begin in another direction, resulting in this look....

Thanks again to everybody who's enjoying the thread, I'm really happy you liked!!!!! There's more next weekend!!!

[patticake]

I'm looking forward to it! Thanks, Renata!

[butt0n]

Wow! Thanks for sharing the pictures and information! If only I could live in a place where orchids were growing off the trees like that!