Because of its location and variety of ecosystems, Colombia has one of the largest biodiversities of flora and fauna in the world. Worldwide, Colombia ranks first in species of birds and amphibians, second in vascular plants and third in mammals.

With two mountain ranges, a Pacific and a Caribbean coast, desert areas, and a portion of the Amazon river basin within in its borders, Colombia contains virtually all climates and environments conducive to orchid plants. Altitude ranges from sea level to 5000 meters and the terrain ranges from desert to rainforest. With such a diversity of environments, the country is home to approximately 3000 species of orchids.

Historically, it was the genus Cattleya that brought many of the early collectors to Colombia in search of new plants, but there has been a special interest and enthusiasm for a group of plants broadly described as members of the Chondrorhyncha group. Generally, these orchids could be described as fan shaped in growth habit, with one flower per inflorescence, not very showy but frequent year round bloomers. Although favoring cool conditions, many are fairly adaptable. They inhabit a swath of area from southern Central America into the northwest corner of South America.

Maria, her sister Rosaura and her good friend Clarita attended the opening evening for Cali's annual orchid show. It was a very nice event attended by people from different cities in Colombia as well as by orchid fans from different countries. The president of the US orchid society attended and was a member of the jury evaluating the orchids entered into the various contests for the best, the rarest, etc.

We took several pictures of these gorgeous and fascinating flowers. To view this album of pictures click on the Album "Orchid Show" in the gallery of pictures.