Specials orchids in Machu Picchu

The ancient orchids in Machu Picchu and the long road to reach Asia, and be appreciated by more than a million people in Singapore.

The lost city of the Incas brings together the largest number of orchids in the country in the wild, thanks to its natural environment conducive to the flowering of these fascinating plants. A special collection of 87 species traveled to Southeast Asia as part of the “Orchids of Machu Picchu” exhibition, which was successfully presented at the Gardens by the Bay botanical garden in Singapore.

Summary

What are the varieties of orchids in Machu Picchu?

Orchids are the flowers with the most species recorded in the world (30,000), it is known that they have existed for 60 million years, with the forests of South America and Malaysia being privileged with the greatest diversity; adapted to the most diverse habitats, they can be found throughout the planet (only Antarctica and the most arid deserts on Earth lack them) the smallest measure just a few millimeters (stenostachya Platystele), which in some cases They can only be appreciated under a magnifying glass.

But we can also find the enormous ones (Sobralia dichotoma) with bouquets with dozens of flowers, with a height of up to 4 m, which we can find on the Inca Trail and the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

The historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu houses one of the most exuberant flora in South America. Among them, ornamental flowers stand out, such as orchids, exotic and extravagantly colored, with 80 genera and 400 species scientifically registered.

Eight of these are new for botanical researchers, in addition seven new species of orchids in three new varieties, give the Historical and Natural Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, thirty-eight new records, publication No. 15 of Icones Orchidacearum (world scientific magazine) presented in mid-August This year in the city of Cusco, three more new orchids, found in Machu Picchu.

Curious fact about orchids in Machu Picchu:

Behind an orchid, there is usually a fascinating story that is summarized in the scientific nomenclature that distinguishes them. A few weeks ago, in the sanctuary of Machu Picchu, a group of biologists discovered a species that they named ‘Sarcoglottis wernerherzogii‘, in honor of the German filmmaker Werner Herzog, who filmed some of his most memorable works in the lost city of the Incas.

This orchid, which resembles the head of a dragon and only blooms once a year, between September and October, joins the list of more than 400 orchids in Machu Picchu.

The most beautiful orchids in Machu Picchu