Happy thanksgiving to those who live in the USA! Today, I am going back in time to recall a post I wrote a few months ago but never published, and an adventure I cherish.
On Aug 28, 2021, my sister and I joined a guided hike offered by Aluz Expediçōes through the trail “Monte de Milho” (Corn Mount or Bunch of Corn?). It was about a one-mile hike up going from 1,010 m to 1,651m through mostly exposed rocks. I felt as if I was free climbing rather than hiking. Anyway, on our way up, we saw a few rare orchids and other flowers, one of which is the main subject of the featured photograph: Worsleya rayneri (Hook.f.) Traub & Moldenke, commonly known as “Rabo de Galo” (Rooster’s Tail). The common name refers to the shape of the leaves.
Worsleya rayneri is endemic to the Brazilian State of Rio de Janeiro and its distribution is limited to the “Serra dos Órgãos” mountain range. It is, thus, a rare wildflower in nature. We were lucky to see it on that day. According to our guides, this plant flowers a little earlier in the season. I could have gotten a little closer but I was afraid of rolling down the exposed rock.
In the background a typical mountainous landscape in Southeastern Brazil, covered with Atlantic Rainforest elements and featuring the rarely absent thick haze that makes it very hard to photograph landscapes there.
It is all about the light 
It was a good find. I think I might have sat on the ground and taken the risk of carefully working my way below the orchids so I could shoot up at them, but maybe the slope was steeper than it looks and you were prudent not to take that risk.
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I must confess that the heights scare me.
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Unfortunately there’s an imperative in some quarters to racialize everything. So much for blind justice and a color-blind society.
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I am so confused because I was having this discussion in Steve’s blog then somehow it jumped over here. Then it look e out if context and I deleted it. Not sure how this happened.
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Lovely image! I’ve only recently discovered the variety and abundance of orchids locally, they are a varied and interesting plant. Greetings from Tasmania!
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Thank you! Unfortunately I don’t live in Brazil anymore, to photograph more local plants!
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Nevermind, hopefully there’s many new and different things to explore and photograph where you live now 🙂 I look forward to your future posts, you have quite a talent.
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Thank you.
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The flower is lovely and the perspective very appealing giving us a great look at what the flower’s environment is like.
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Somehow a discussion I was having with Steve in his blog jumped over here 🤔 and when I saw the out of place comments they didn’t make sense and I deleted them. I apologize it was my mistake. Thanks for your input.
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The internet is full of mystery. By all means delete my political comment and this too if you wish.No apology necessary as it was not your doing. It won’t bother me that my thoughts won’t see the light of WordPress. 🙂
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I think I thought I was replying on his post when I was in fact replying here. I noticed that there was something out of place when WordPress stated asking me to approve the comments 😂.
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🙂 Oh well. We all make mistakes at one time or another. I’ve done similar, replying to one post with a comment meant for another. In that case, apology accepted. 😀
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I love your wildflower and mountain photos. Thanks for sharing. #optoutside
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Thanks for your kind words
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Nice photo. Is the haze by any chance from forest burning? We hear so much about it here (in the UK) and the damage that is done/
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No. It’s from the humidity plus suspended particles. Often around 80%. In the early morning it was misty, the fog gave way to haze as the day went on. There were no fires burning anywhere near at the time of this picture.
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Like you, I would have refrained from trying to move to a position below the flower.The cleared area in front of the flowers suggests that someone might have tried that, and slid down the embankment. I’d be worried about damaging the plants — not to mention myself!
The ‘rooster tail’ leaves certainly live up to that name; they’re as enjoyable as the flowers. My previous ophthalmologist did a good bit of traveling with a friend who spent years finding and photographing rare plants in Peru, Chile, Ecuador — all over. When Covid put an end to traveling, he’d been on the way to somewhere in the Pacific Islands. Your flowers reminded me of his journeys, and the way he would rave about finally finding one of those rare species. I know he would have enjoyed finding this one.
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It would be lovely, to go on such expedition! My life dream! I really preferred not seeing the front of this flower, precisely because I didn’t want to roll down the bare rock!
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I have a fear of heights…..so I don’t think I would have been able to get nearly as close as you were. Many moons ago I used to raise orchids so I think this is a hike I would have enjoyed quite a bit!
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There were a few other rare orchids on that hike.
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