Orchid Borealis

Cattleya maxima is one of the oldest described species of Cattleya .  Lindley described C. maxima in 1831, after describing the first Cattleya , C. labiata , in 1821.  Four additional bifoliate Cattleya (each pseudobulb usually produces 2 leaves) were described between these two species.  Although it was the second described unifoliate (single-leaf) Cattleya , it was the first species discovered in this genus.  Spanish botanists sent the herbarium specimen of C. maxima in 1777, but nothing was done to the specimen for over 50 years.  Chadwick and Chadwick (2006) contains the details of the history of the discovery, disappearance, and re-discovery of this beautiful species.  You can also read the story in their web site ( link ). Some unifoliate Cattalya are difficult to identify because they look similar.  But C. maxima is relatively easy to recognize due to the unique floral feature, the yellow stripe in the middle of the lip.  This featu...

Dolly Varden Trout ( Salvelinus malma ) at Russian River We avoided traveling in summer 2020 due to the pandemic.  Taiga was really bummed because he was planning to go for Salmon fishing.  When we were deciding our vacation destination for the Independence Day weekend of 2021, Taiga was all set to go back to Klutina River for Sockeye (Red) Salmon, and Valdez for Pink Salmon, just like the trip we did in 2019 ( link ).  Salmon runs are different every year.  We checked various sources a couple days before the weekend, but salmons weren't running hot in Klutina nor Valdez.  So at the last minute, we changed the destination, and headed to Kenai peninsula.  I'm just writing down about the trip for this post before I forget. We had a late start on Sunday, July 4, but we managed to drive to Byers Lake Campground.  The last time we stayed here, it was infested with mosquitoes, but it wasn't bad this year.  We grabbed sandwich materials for dinner on the...

My orchid room gets filled with wonderful fragrance every year around May, and the fragrance intensifies in the evening.  We were away for 10 days at the end of May this year, so we missed quite a bit of this experience, but there are still some Vanda (Neofinetia) falcata blooming in the mid-June.    This variety, 高隈 (Takakuma), has white tiger variegation, and the pattern is fairy fuzzy (i.e. the borders of white and green parts are not sharply defined).  You might be wondering why this is "white" variegation since the variegation in the photo shows more yellowish patches.  But they are whiter in the new leaves and as the leaves become older, the variegation either disappears and/or becomes yellowish.  Most leaves on this plant are from last year or earlier, so you don't see the new leaves with white variegation in the photo.  Horiuchi (1995) mentioned that it would retain the beautiful variegation longer if it is grown under more shady condition, bu...