Pleurothallis ruscifolia a common forest ephiphyte

[Ricardo in PR]

Pleurothallis ruscifolia is a common forest ephiphyte in the middle and high elevations of the Sierra de Luquillo forests. It can be found in the sierra palm forest and in some parts of the elfin forest. Some clumps seem to have cleistogamous plants, that is plants whose flowers self fertilize and don't open. But it is not rare to find open flowers. The challenge in getting a photo of these plants is in protecting the photographic equipment you have to take into their very wet habitat from the rain and the very high relative humidity levels that prevail in these areas.

[Mauro Rosim]

The nice, semi-transparent flowers well worth the attempt, Ricado!

[Ricardo in PR]

Thanks for your comment. I love photographing orchids in the wild because it is an all around good thing to do. You get good excersise, see some lovely sights and enjoy the thrill of the chase and the reward of finding something interesting or curious to share with your friends.

[K Barrett]

Jeepers, how can I say this? I've started writing what I want to say 3 times and it always comes out sounding like a slam, which I don't mean it to be. So having said that I'll just go ahead and say what I want and y'all have to stay with me to the end of the thought. Many people hate 'travelogue' presentations at orchid society meetings because the speaker will show a picture of a bunch of greenery and buried somewhere in all the green is an orchid. ["See the orchid there (points)"] I always liked travelogues because these sorts of pictures show me 2 things, 1) a place I'll probably never get to visit and 2) *the whole plant* in its natural habitat. 99.99999% of the time we see only pictures of the flower or floral parts and its dang hard to get a photo of the whole plant. So yes, I like seeing the whole plant even though I am 100% guilty of only taking pics of the flower. Good on ya, Ricardo.

[Ricardo in PR]

I sometimes include photos of the whole plant if is one that is not common in captivity. I am happy that you like my photos!