Orchids in the state of Espírito Santo

[renata]

Hi everybody! With a little delay cause I wasn't home this week... Sorry for the order of the images, I never seem to get it right , heheheh....

ORCHIDS AND ENVIRONMENT OF THE STATE OF ESPÍRITO SANTO

Due to humid winds and convergent air currents, there is a favorable climate to grow orchids in this state and there are a lot of species in nature. Although Espírito Santo represents only 0,5% of the national territory, it is the state that presents the greater number of species, being Cattleya warnerii one of the best examples. But there are several micro-orchids too, like Pleurothallis, Octomeria and Bifrenaria.

About 40% of the territory is made of lowlands and the rest is constituted of mountains. These mountains have average altitude of 758 meters and have lots of rivers and lakes, which result in deep valleys and create a unique environment (Picture 6). There are several peaks throughout the state.
The predominant climate is the tropical of altitude on 60% of the state, with sudden weather changes, hot summers and pleasant winters. The remaining 40% presents tropical climate.

The lands of Espírito Santo may be separated in Hot lands and Cold lands. The Hot lands extend through a narrow costal area, are very plain with tropical dry weather and average annual temperature of 22ºC. The annual rain precipitation is 1.100mm. The Cold lands present mountains and tropical of altitude climate, with average annual temperature under 18ºC and rain annual average of 1.500mm.

In the Lowlands region, the predominant weather if tropical dry, with rainy summers and dry winters. During March, this place has one of the hottest summer on Brazil, with average temperatures around 27º- 30ºC, that can reach up to 40º C some days. On the other hand, the winter can reach very low temperatures, like 10ºC, due to polar air masses.

In the Mountains, where the climate is tropical of altitude, this polar mass makes temperature drop to 0ºC in the winter. The higher it gets, the colder it gets. There are 4 well-defined seasons and lots of rain.

Originally, vegetation in the Lowlands included coastal plants and tropical forest, while in the Mountains, there were tropical and Atlantic forests (Picture 1) and altitude fields. Nowadays, some of the tropical and Atlantic forests are still preserved, but there are lots of Eucalyptus and other pine cultivations, mostly for paper and furniture production.

ORCHIDS

Too facilitate the comprehension of some environments that can be found, the habitats were divided in four zones:

Zone 1: altitude between 0 and 200m – semi-humid weather, tropical, plain and hot lands. Orchids: Cattleya guttata (Picture 2), Cattleya harrisoneana, Oncidium barbatum, Oncidio pumillum, Sophronitis cernua e Laelia grandis.
Zone 2: altitude between 200 and 400m – almost the same as zone 1, but the terrain is more uneven and temperature is a little lower. Orchids: Cattleya schofieldiana, Oncidio phimatochillum, Galeandra divens, Catasetum macrocarpum, Laelia gloedeniana e Laelia tenebrosa.
Zone 3: altitude between 400 and 800m – tropical humid climate, cooler temperatures, rainy, uneven terrain and variable fertility. It’s the richest of the zones in orchids species. Orchids: Cattleya warneri (Picture 7), Cattleya schilleriana (Picture 3), Cattleya velutina, Laelia pumilla, Laelia praestans, Oncidio flexuosum, Miltonia clowesii, Miltonia spectabilis e Sophronitis wittigiana.
Zone 4: Tropical humid climate, cold weather, very uneven terrain, a lot of rain and variable fertility. Orchids: Sophronitis bicolor, Oncidio gardneri, Scuticaria hadweni, Zigopetalum triste, Miltonia cuneata, Isabelia virginalis etc.

However, it’s important to remember that orchids can adapt to adverse conditions and may be presents in mixed areas. (piece of an article written by Luciene Costa, extracted from < http://blog.tudosobreplantas.com.br/2006/09/26/orquideas-do-espirito-santo-variedade-e-exuberancia/>)

Other orchids: Bifrenaria, Bulbophyllum,Catasetum, Encyclia, Epidendrum, Habenaria, Masdevallia, Maxillaria, Miltonia, Oncidium, Pleurothallis, Stanhopea, Vanilla Zygopetalum, Sophronitis. Among Cattleyas: acklandiae (Picture 4), amethystoglossa (Picture 5), bicolor, harrisoniana, leopoldii, loddigesii. And among Laelias: blumenscheinii, brevicaulis, cinnabarina, crispa, crispata, gloedeniana, grandis, harphophylla, hispidula, kautsky, macrobulbosa, mixta, munchowiana, tenebrosa, virens, xanthina.

[JLu]

Renata, thank you again for a wonderful explanation of the geography and environment of a section of Brazil. The state of Espirito Santo is one of the richest sources of the orchids we grow here in the US. Your country, which is roughly 2/3 the size of the US, is blessed with a variety of different environments which result in an interesting variety of plant and animal life. Unfortunately Americans are not well acquainted with the diversity of Brazil and your descriptions are valuable in teaching us about it.

Thank you very much for your efforts.

[renata]

Hi, JLU!
I'm really learning a lot from this little research too!!! Since we all grow at least some of these orchids, maybe a description of their habitat might be helpfull, right?....
In the next thread, I hope I can talk a little about Minas Gerais....
Thanks for your support!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PhalPal]

Great tutorial Renata! I love this forum because we are so diverse and it gives us a wonderful opportunity to learn about different orchids and their habitats, as well as the 'habitats' of each other!

Thanks for sharing; Espirito Santo looks like a beautiful corner of the world.

[Brooke]

Very very interesting Renata and such a wonderful insight into the world of Brazlian orchids from just one area of a very large country.

I would be happy to just grow Brazilian orchids. The choices from just this state is totally amazing.

Thank you for taking your time to post this information for all of us to enjoy.

Brooke

[BillC]

Thank you once again Renata, I am wondering if you will take us into the interior? In such a vast area of land there must be species that have not yet been discovered.

Bill

[renata]

Hi PHALPAL, BROOKE AND BILLC!!!
So happy you all liked, thanks! I hope this helps somehow....
Bill C, it really is a vast area hum? In the first thread about Goiás, some of the species I've talked about are also present in the other states, into the interior of the country...I don't know for sure but I think you're right, a few species are still being discovered.........
Thanks again!!!!!!!!