[17] In Venezuela and Colombia the word parasita—parasite—is usually employed to designate all orchids, no matter what may be the species or genus. This is a mistake. Orchids are not parasites which, like the dodder or mistletoe, obtain their nourishment from the plant or tree on which they grow. They are epiphytes, that get their nourishment from the surrounding atmosphere, and use the branches and trunks of trees merely as supports or resting-places. The Old World genus Aërides is especially remarkable in this respect. One of the species, Aërides odoratum, “has this wonderful property, that, when brought from the woods, where it grows, into a house, and suspended in the air, it will grow, flourish and flower for many years without any nourishment, either from the earth or from water.” For this reason the orchid is appropriately called Flos aëris, or Air Flower. [↑]
[18] Orchids: Their Culture and Management, p. 20, by W. Watson and H. J. Chapman, London, 1903.
Peter Martyr must have had some of these orchids in mind when he wrote the following sentence as translated by Michael Lok:—“Smooth and pleasinge words might be spoken of the sweete odors and perfumes of these countries, which we purposely omit because they make rather for the effeminatinge of mens minds than for the maintanance of good behavior.” Dec. IV, Cap. 4, p. 161.
For colored figures and descriptions of the rare and beautiful orchidaceous plants found in Venezuela and Colombia, the reader is referred to The Orchid Album, 12 vols., conducted by Messrs. Warner, Williams, Moore and Fitch, London. [↑]
CHAPTER VI
APPROACHING THE ANDES
“Aqui la selva secular, ornada
De festones de variada enredadera
De bellos y vivísimos colores,