Hello Everyone.

After learning about the requirements to gain a spousal visa for Colombia, my wife & I collected all the necessary things, & we are returning to Tulcan, Ecuador to file for my spousal visa (Isn’t that a twist on the norm).

I will be taking digital photos & some video as I did buy my digital camera. There will even be some wonderful technical data included as I am going to have the driver hit the trip meter, & take kilometer readings anywhere I collect plants, or find significant such as bridges or centers of villages. I am also going to make the attempt to note on film where I collected the previous plants though that may be a bit tough.

We will be returning three days from now, but I would not expect the new photos to be up until next weekend as I am sure we will be busy collecting my 2 year old son, my puppy, & resting after the trip.

Regards,

Noel

This first set of pictures was our first stop on the way to Ecuador. We had lunch at a restaurant at this reserve.



There is a beautiful river that runs beside this restaurant. Here are photos of the river & some of the Aroids on the bank.



These photos are of the concrete ponds used to support the restaurant's fish menu.



We arrived in Ecuador in the afternoon while it was still sunny, but an hour or so after we arrived it began to rain. I am so surprised that it rained in the rain forest! HEHE Just kidding!
By the way, the people here simply call this area jungle. Rain forest does not mean anything to them since they are familiar with this forest. They do not even think to realize that other areas of the world are not like this.
You should hear some of the silly questions or statements I hear about my culture.



As we explored Tulcan, Ecuador, I took some photos of the city. Here they are below. I took my wife shopping also since we were basically on a vacation trip. I have lots of pictures of dresses & jackets that I can upload if the site is interested, but I have not bothered to do that yet.



There is a statue much like our statue of liberty here in this park. I took a bunch of pictures of it as well as the plaques commemorating the dates & events. Here they are.



Here are the rest of the photos of the same park.



Anyone care to guess what this gorgeous flower is? I am amazed to see this growing in a public park.



Here are the photos of the border between Ecuador & Colombia. We are on our way to meet our taxi, & stopped to take pictures of the natural barrier between Ecuador & Colombia which is a river.



Bring on the plants. The first on our stops was at the bridge where the mother plant for the Monstera Deliciosa I found lives. I was told I should note landmarks such as bridges during my collections, & I promised the site to take photos of this mother plant on my next trip. This is a monster literally!
I asked Omar, our taxi driver to drive slower on this trip so I could more easily note the plants I wanted to collect. He obliged me with an average speed of 80 KMPH which is much slower than they normally take this trip.



Rules to happy marriage. Wife wants something simple & easy, give it to her! My wife noticed this plant, & asked to collect a specimen for the house. "Of course , baby!"



I noticed this flower up a little trail beside the same area where the mother plant of the Monstera Deliciosa is. I am not sure if we still have a specimen since my wife planted all the "flowers" I will look at the plants to see if I can match this later.



I noticed this flower growing on the side of the road just before the first small town we passed after I started collecting plants (town name to follow in later edits)



These Impatiens are wild all over the side of the road in about 6 colors I think. My wife was absolutely beside herself with these, & collected every color she could as well as the moss growing over the ground which was the smartest thing I could think of there. She planted all the flowers directly in pots filled with moss. (Beams proudly about wife)



This is one of the two common orchids here. I have this variety already, so did not collect this plant.



These plants are on the first aroid collection stop. I collected 3 different species here (I am relatively sure they are different species)



This plant is gigantic. I may have collected more than one example of this plant as I later collected a large piece of another plant that appears to be the same. the stem photo is of a stem which is more
than 3 inches thick.



This waterfall marks the next stop on our journey. I collected 4 different species on this stop. 3 of them are self heading species, but I have no idea what species. They appear to be Anthariums from the little I know about these species having the geniculum or elbow joint on the petiole to be able to turn a bit for light.



The heart shaped leaf seems to be Philodendron verrucosum, but has distinct differences. There is no color in the leaves, & the vein structure is significantly different.



This is where the trip back became interesting for me. I noticed this plant deep in some cover on the road & simply told Omar to stop. He stopped about 100 meters ahead, & I ran back looking for it. It turned out to be a monstrous Philodendron verrucosum about 30 feet long entwined in 3 closely growing trees. As this is one of my favorite plants, I collected several specimens which I planted in various locations to maximize survival chances. The largest is a three leaved tip of the big plant which seems to be growing as if it did not notice being moved. The biggest leaves you see in the picture are over 2 feet long.



This plant has an interesting tiger pattern in dark brown on the petioles, & looks great next to the monster Philodendron verrucosum in my large planter. Anyone know what it is?



This is an incredible plant, but I am not sure if it is an aroid. It seems to be, but I can not be sure.



These two plants were collected on the side of this same creek location as my wife was calling me to return to the car. I snuck up the trail & discovered them attached to moss on a rock by the water. Ideas as to what they are?



This gigantic plant is not very far from my home. It is a few hundred meters from a military roadblock outside of Chilvi. I collected a large specimen which may be the same as a few I already collected, but no pieces this large. This plant grows huge. The petioles are longer than 3 foot, & the leaves I have seen are 2 & 1/2 to 3 feet long. Anyone know what it is?

Noel, what beautiful pictures, and interesting plants. The little orange triangular flower is Tigridia pavonia, common name Mexican Shell Flower. They sell in spring bulb catalogs here - be sure to dig deep and get the bulb if you collect it. They also come in purple, pink, white and yellow.

I'm surprised to see carnations, pansies and gazanias growing in your pictures from the park. I guess the elevation allows the weather to be cool enough for them, right down there on the equator, yes?

Elaine, When I dug up the Tigridia pavonia I believe I got the bulb as I simply took the earth surrounding it also. I wanted as little transplant stress as possible. It is absolutely gorgeous, & the point this trip was to make my wife happy! Living flowers in the mix keeps her smiling.

Yes, the temperature is a balmy 55 to 70 degrees at this altitude. I absolutely hate it after living in Tumaco for half a year. What did you think of the Opium Poppy? I am pretty sure that is what this plant is, but I never guessed the flower would be so gorgeous. I only knew what it was by the pod which I have seen being harvested via National Geographic. In the film I saw, they slice the side of the pod to make it ooze oil which they then collect.

Are you familiar with this orchid as well? I have no idea how to look it up since the word orchid gets a myriad of pictures of flowers , & none of the plant.

Noel

Unknown or ID'd Anthurium found behind Comfamiliar- Chilvi


Anthurium crystallinum


Unknown Anthurium (I assume from leaf structure & growth pattern)


Various begonias
2 varieties wild collected noted below











Dragonwing found behind Comfamiliar - Chilvi


Begonia collected on trip returning from Ecuador










Alocasia micholitziana (Cultivar I think) Anyone know how to make this grow faster? It is putting on a new leaf every 3 months or so.


Philodendron verrucosum (monster Adult)


Philodendron squamipetiolatum Croat


Unknown/Unidentified/undescribed Philodendron with tiger pattern or speckled petioles


Recently named by Dr.Croat/Undescribed Syngonium litense Croat collected at Comfamiliar-Chilvi


Unidentified Syngonium species (I think) I know it is too young to identify. Collected at Comfamiliar-Chilvi


Orchid which is country flower of Colombia.
Edit: After comparing website photos with this one, I have decided this is not the Orchid of Colombia, but one that looks very close.
I believe the other has a different plant structure as well as different blooms.

Noel, from the leaves and stems I'd guess that orchid is Arundina, commonly known as the "Bamboo Orchid" since the foliage looks a bit like bamboo. It's a very nice terrestrial orchid that blooms for long periods and will increase into a lovely decorative clump. Don't pick the flowers off the top, it continues to lengthen the stem and put out new flowers at the top.

You've got some lovely begonias there. They will really like the cooler temps at altitude down there, though. Mine tolerate the summers here, but really take off and bloom when the nights cool off through the fall and winter. I keep mine a little cooler in summer by putting the pots right against the glass sliding doors to my patio. Cool radiating from the a/c inside keeps them a few degrees cooler at least.

Hello Elaine. Thanks for the ID on the Orchid. I have a young one so she won't be blooming until the next dry season I suppose. We started the wet season here last month.

The Begonias seem to love it here, & after they establish themselves in my collage of Begonias, they really take off. The pictures you saw are all in one large 6" deep by about 30" wide bowl. I have been contemplating the option of replanting them, but the old adage "If it's not broke, Don't fix it" keeps ringing in my head. When they root bind the bowl I will replant them in a more suitable soil mixture of rotting leaves & other humus stuff. Everything I changed to that here has recovered from being yanked out of the tree or ground they were in much faster than in regular "potting soil". I suppose I should thank Arif for the advice about that.

I am watching the growing season here to see exactly what happens to the jungle as the rainy season passes into another dry season. I have seen leaf cutter ants at work, venomous snakes I only heard about in National Geographic,tarantulas the size of baseballs, & rare plants covering the country side literally. I will be uploading photos of the snakes (quite dead) & the tarantula later as well as some interesting stuff about a plant I just found. It turns out one of my earlier finds was not unique as I thought at Comfamiliar De Narino- Chilvi. I found a mature specimen with fruit.

Noel

Hello everyone.

Anyone have any idea why my Alocasia micholitziana would put out a plain green leaf of a totally different consistency than normal? It is not leathery like the other leaves, & has no coloration that I can tell (the leaf is still unfolding).

Noel

Wish I could help Noel. A few seller sites say to keep it uniformly moist with a well draining mix. I can't find one that talks about whether or not to let it dry a bit between watering. Hopefully the leaf will mature to normal.

Thanks Evan.

I think I will change this plant to my new wonderful jungle mix of umm leaves, sawdust, & not much else. My plants all seem to be doing well in this mix. There is some of the low grade potting soil in the mix simply for weight to keep the plants able to stand until the put new roots into the mix.

The gigantic philodendron I got this trip is growing instead of going rotten like the other one did. I think the next leaf after this one that was already there will be magnificent since it will have no damage due to wind or moving.

LariAnn, are you familiar with this plant?


I am wondering if LariAnn has checked out this last trip, & has anything to say? I am curious what this huge philodendron is as well as a couple others.

LariAnn, Do you know the philodendron with the speckled petioles? This plant is putting on new leaves already.
Unknown/Unidentified/undescribed Philodendron with tiger pattern or speckled petioles


Recently named by Dr.Croat/Undescribed Syngonium litense Croat. The pictures of the fruit are the first ever published as Dr. Croat has collected this plant, but never with fruit. I have this plant at home now as the area it is growing in is being "renovated" for guests.I will have seed of this plant in a month or so I am guessing from other syngoniums. Anyone interested in seeds?


LariAnn , do you recognize this philodendron?

Hello Evan. Thanks for the advice. I am thinking about changing the soil on this plant, but it seems to be doing fine. The odd leaf was just a premature worry. It has since grown & developed the color & consistency of the rest of the plant. The soil for it is a bit heavy I think, so I am considering changing that out soon.

Glad to here it's turned out well. That was quick. With all the jungle near you it's nice to read you agonize over your plants like the rest of us.
I picked up a few smaller Alocasia recently. Between that and all your plant posts I've been seeing many that need to dry out a bit even though they grow in environments like yours. I saw a post recently where an Anthurium was grown in a perforated pot by a well respected grower. I'm wondering if wood slat pots like the ones you have would benefit from a small air space between slats for certain species.

Neil, on the speckled or striped petioles, seems like lots of aroids have that. Here are pictures of my Philo. Gloriosum with speckled stems, and also Alo. Stingray's stems are very patterned. The leaf is P. Gloriosum, a very distinctive velvety textured one with white veining.

Hello again Evan.
All of my new plants from the trip back from Ecuador have benefited from my wonderful failures with the normal potting soil I had available here. I have since developed a mix of local tree sawdust (completely untreated wood), & dried leaves. I mix shed leaves & plant matter into actively growing plants medium as they are shed, & have placed living moss over most of the pots surfaces in order to hold moisture, but permit complete drainage in seconds instead of days like the potting soil was doing. Every two weeks or so I have been dropping a pinch (about a 1/4 teaspoon) of granulated 15/15/15 mix into the pots. They all seem to be loving the new mix, & as the other plants begin to complain for whatever reason such as over crowding or root bind, I am changing their mixes too. The wood slat boxes you remember from my original posts have mostly been replaced with a couple of boxes I built which actually drain really well, & some plastic pots with this current mix. Though I hate plastic pots, I can not afford to pay $10 or $15 dollars apiece for the clay ones here. I have been making them work with this mix by insuring they have adequate drainage holes as well as nice chunks of brick to prevent the holes from getting clogged.

Surprisingly enough this mix composted very easily, & quickly without any burning of my plants which is what I was worried about. The sawdust composted, but the leaves & sawdust both are great for drainage. I agonize over my plants that are unique mostly. The Syngonium litense Croat I found recently is shedding leaves from transplant shock. I am sure it will survive, but I am wondering if there is some "magic" fix of some sort for transplant shock?

Hello Elaine.
Yea, I have several of those plants actually, & am familiar with the speckled petioles trait. I simply know this is something attractive with this plants, & the leaves on this are actually pretty unique as well with a pelted look to them. I will write more later, but have to go atm.
Noel

Evan, from what I am seeing, they do not need to dry out. They all need a fast draining mix that stays evenly moist. The odd thing for me is some are very finicky about their leaves touching other stuff. This plant for instance gets damage easily if the leaves are touched while wet from rain or watering.
I also have some Anthuriums whose leaves show damage & dying off if the tips of their leaves touch the ground or soil. Since most of my plants are a bit crowded until I get moved on to my own land later this year, that is somewhat of a problem. They seem to be doing fine though.

Noel

Beautiful Philo and stingray Elaine. I lost mine but will give it another shot this year. Nice to have Logee's nearby.

Looking at all your plants Noel I can't imagine how you can avoid bumping into them.

Hello Evan.
Yea, with the amount of space I have, it is almost impossible to not touch them when we walk on the balcony. Each time I get another plant , the biggest decision is what to move! HEHE! I have been considering building a roof over the stairs up to my balcony, because that would give me more unfiltered sunlight space for my "big" plants. I am using the wall that surrounds the stairs as a plant stand which gives me about 12 feet, & the balcony is about 12 feet long. This is my complete area for plants. Inside the apartment is too dark even with a sliding glass door which is odd to me. I could use some help figuring out which of my plants actually do like low light situations, so I can improve my space allocation. All tropical plant vendors & most sites dedicated to them in the states say low light when they should say filtered full sunlight, so I dunno who to trust. The whole point of climbing plants is to reach higher intensity sunlight at a higher level in the canopy. What I am seeing is between 15 & 40 feet up in trees with small widely spaced leaves. The sunlight they allow to penetrate is strong , but filtered.

Anyways, the vines I have all want strong filtered light, so what do I have left to work with on the low light indoors? The larger elephant ear species seem to like high intensity filtered, or unfiltered sun depending on which one.

Also, I have a small problem that I would like as many ideas as possible about. Most of these plants get damaged when I collect them as it is not possible to collect a whole plant that is 40 feet long with leaves 3X4 feet. My question is how do I help prevent or combat transplant stress? I have heard old wives tales that say to water with distilled water, & not feed right away. I have also heard to feed a balanced mix. I have also heard to keep the plant in the dark for a couple days to recover. I have tried many methods, but I want to hear what you seasoned plant fanatics have to say?

Sincerely,
Noel

Noel, as far as transplanting goes, definitely keep a new transplant in full shade for a week or two before gradually moving it back into its 'natural' light. i.e. similar light situation to where it was growing in the wild.

Obviously you want to get as much root structure as you can with the plants you collect, but it's not always possible. It's important to prune the top growth to be proportional to the amount of roots you have. So for example, I would leave the newer, small leaves on a big EE, and cut off any really large ones as the root system probably won't support those big leaves after the move. The plant might die trying . .. so to speak.

Don't know what you'll have available down there, but I do fertilize all my transplants with a Miracle-Gro product called "Quick Start". It's a water soluble 4 - 12 - 4 formulation with B-vitamins and rooting hormones in the mix. I water immediately upon potting new transplants with this solution, and again in a week or so.

Humidity is also pretty important but I don't suppose you have any problem maintaining high humidity. It varies here in the winter, and when it's dry, I mist my new transplants with a spray bottle. No need for this in the summer months.

Elaine, thanks for the information. Unfortunately until I make a special trip to Pasto specifically for the rooting hormone, I do not have it available. As fertilizers are on a no fly list , I can not get them brought here legally, & ordering in country presents its own problems (I am still waiting on my bank card after a month-20 days sitting in Bogota). I am working with what is available here, & since it is an agricultural area there is quite a bit. I will be making the trip to Pasto soon, but I may try to order rootone, or something similar online here in a few days.

I want to have the stuff on hand. Anyone know the name of a root + vitamin product that I used to use in liquid form. The bottle was brown glass with a yellow label. Had a myriad of vitamins of mostly b complexes, & a good strength of rooting hormone in it. I really liked how my philodendrons did with that & my monstera deliciosa though she probably would have been happy with anything as long as she got water & light.

Sincerely,
Noel

Maybe it was Superthrive? I have a little bottle of it that I put a few drops in the sprayer for my orchids, when I foliar feed them.