#plantsoftheworld

Eulophia callichroma is an interesting terrestrial orchid from several African countries including Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Eulophia is one of my favorite orchid genera as many of its species break the expected norm that orchids require warm, humid, tropical sorts of places. While not the most extreme species in the genus (Eulophia petersii is noted as being the ‘desert orchid’ after all), it still does an impressive job thriving in rocky landscapes and forests in the slightly wetter end of the mediterranean climate range with a very harshly pronounced dry season. Swollen stems known as pseudobulbs store water and nutrients and will slowly shrivel through the dry season to be replenished when rain again falls. Like many other Eulophia, it requires a dry winter to bloom, and this species is noted as often blooming following a period of fire. In such dry climates it is quite natural for many native species to be adapted to and ultimately benefit from occasional fires. Unfortunately the introduction of non-native species and human intervention in the progress of wildfires often results in more severe fires which threaten not only human establishment but also surpass what fire-adapted species are able to tolerate.