BAREFOOT BOYS MEXICAN TRIP N° 7

(By Noah Elhardt and Forbes Conrad, , 2006) 

(All pictures by Noah Elhardt and Forbes Conrad)

P. moranensis - 2 variable sites from Oaxaca, Mexico.

P. moranensis never ceases to amaze me with its high variability in flower colour and morphology, even within a single site! These two sites were no exception.

Site 1 (between rain showers):

Plants just coming out of dormancy:

Site 2

The second site was in the same cloud as the P. conzattii we visited:
 

I was browsing around when I spotted a P. moranensis with a large, hot pink flower.

The next flowering plant I saw, perhaps a meter away, had this flower (a darker purple than came out in this picture):
 

A comparison of the spurs is also interesting. The spur of the second plant was narrow, long, and relatively straight :

The first plant had a shorter, fatter, recurved spur. I don't have a picture of that one uploaded, but it was similar (though perhaps shorter and more recurved) to this intermediate growing nearby:

Any thoughts on P. moranensis variability?

Cheers,

Noah Elhardt and Forbes Conrad