In the Bahia part we were also joined by Cassio van den Berg. The highest
level of a group and I should say it was great to be part of it. And of
course we had memorable discussions on taxonomy, morphology
and DNA
- lots of educational enlightenment and fun. So here we go... After we left Porteirinha, the drive is long to the Sincorá, and we passed quite a few cities and a vegetation that was getting drier and drier. We actually paassed through areas of Caatinga vegetation, a type that occurs in areas where sometime there is no rain for more than a year. It was interesting to see, as long as you don't have to stop as there is nothing in terms of orchids. We finally started to climb the chapada a bit late in the afternoon, the road is quite impressive as the climb is steep and the mountains are all around us. The first stop is where I was hoping to find some plants of Hoffmannseggella pfisteri, I was not so sure as they were quite rare when I last looked for them in 1987. Amazingly though, the population seem to have recovered nicely and the species was in full flowering season. As a result we saw countless plants in flower, from single individuals to large clumps. That was a good start to the Bahia part of the trip. |
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Stig was quite happy to see all these plants
in flower, and so was I. Plants were so plentiful
that we actually spent almost all the afternoon photographing them.
That was fine, as the only thing left to do in that day was to reach
Mucugê which was going to be our night stop. That is where we were
going to meet Cássio and be based for the next four days. |
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The south end of the Sincorá is comprised of fairly isolated tabletops as the one in the right, with passages between them where sometimes roads cut through. These are mostly dirt roads that can cause a lot of stress on the vehicles as there are lots of loose rocks. As we go north there is a long continuous range until we get to the interruption when there is the fairly narrow passage where Mucugê is located. Elevation at the base of these tablelands is about 3K' to 3.5 K' and the tops range from 3.8 K' to 4.5 K' on average. Highest elevations rarely exceed 5,000' so the climbs can be steep on the few trails that exist but they are not that difficult. Unless of course it is Spring/Summer and you are carrying a lot of stuff including photo equipment. The picture on the right is close to Ibicoara, which ended up being our base after we left Mucugê. | ||
North of
Mucugê, the chapada is essentially one big tableland. There are also
several higher peaks on top of the tableland that can add a couple
hundred feet in elevation as we can see on the left. Essentially,
very easy walking after you climb to the top. Several terrestrial
orchids are found there, not so many in flower at this time of the
year though. Of significance, the gorgeous orange-flowered
Sterrhynchus species shown below in the middle. Besides orchids, there are lots of other things to be seen in flower this time of the year, including several species of Melastomataceae on the drier areas. On the roadside, species on the Fabaceae family (Leguminosae) are also plentiful as this colorful Clitoria shown below on the left. On the embankments of small streams, insectivorous species of Utricularia like the one pictured below right are abundant. |
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There are several other orchid species around and in some places the tiny Leptotes vellozicola is abundant. The photo above left shows the way they are most commonly found, on large Vellozia shrubs. Above right the plants look like miniature bats hanging from a Vellozia branch. We can see the plants produce lots of seed pods. | ||
Another very showy and common species on the ledges is Encyclia alboxanthina, mostly at lower elevations and almost totally absent on the tableland's tops. I have seen plants in flower at different seasons, but from previous visits I remembered the flowering was very heavy at this time of the year. And we were not disappointed, as most of the plants were in bloom. These plants produce tall branched inflorescences and the flowers are strongly fragrant. | ||
There are also a few species of Oncidium, and the two we saw in flower were both terrestrials. The one above left was almost impossible to photograph as the plants were on the open and the wind was very strong. We didn't have a chance to explore the altitude gallery forests on top of the tablelands, but from memory these forests are very rich in orchid species, including a few other Oncidium species. | ||
Cyrtopodium is very common genus in the region, not so much in
terms of variety of species but instead due of the quantity of
plants. Cyrtopodium aliciae (above left) is very common in
lower elevations and rarely found above 3,000 ft. The pseudobulbs
are very robust but no so tall and the inflorescences are very tall,
branched and can produce several dozen flowers. These are about 1.5"
across and extremely colorful as in the picture. Above right we have Cyrtopodium flavum, another very common species that can also be found up to the top of the tablelands. The plants are taller and the pseudobulbs not as robust as on Cyrtopodium aliciae, but the inflorescences can be even taller and produce even more of those bright yellow 1.5" flowers. |
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Then again,
the flora is extremely varied and colorful and by no means
restricted to orchids. Vellozia shrubs are everywhere and
represented by dozens of different species. The one above left is
produces extremely large and colorful flowers that can be up to 6"+
in size. Those were in full flower but getting to see lots of
vellozias in flowers is a matter of luck as the flowers last 1-2
days and the plants tend to flower all at the same time. It is a
magnificent sight when they are all in flower - we were lucky. Quite
a few bromeliads are also found, and at the top of the tablelands
the showiest one is Orthophytum albopictum. Above right
there are a few individuals in flower and that is the time they get
really colorful. So after four days at the Chapada Diamantina it was time to start our return to Rio de Janeiro. The drive back would be about 1,300 miles through Bahia nd Minas Gerais states so we would have a couple of days to talk about the very successful trip we had. And more so then in past trips, now I fully realized how vast and rich the region actually is so several more trips are in the plans. |