Several species of wild Eulophia orchids in Zimbabwe vary from shape to form.
The orchids in the general impression are delicate and fragile, but several orchids such as silk grass, column orchids, and Meiguan orchids often grow in large areas on the lawns of South China, which are very resistant to manipulation and have become the "three treasures of the lawn" in the mouths of flower watchers. One of them, the genus Officinalis, which is home to the American Crown Orchid, is a genus of nearly 200 species, most of which are distributed in Africa. The pseudobulbs of this genus are generally very developed, strong and strong, enough to cope with many adverse environments, and open up new growth areas, such as eulophia graminea, which is common in the south, and even became an invasive plant in the Caribbean Islands countries of the Western Hemisphere and Florida in the United States.
The African genus is diverse, with a few living in humid areas and more growing in drier and more open savannas, of which the extremely drought-tolerant members are eulophia petersii of Peter's Crown Orchid in Figure 1, whose leaves are as hard as a long sword, exactly like some tigertail orchids, and grow with aloe vera in the semi-desert of South Africa, East Africa; this kind of inflorescence can grow up to two meters tall, and the plant morphology is unique, but the flowers are unremarkable (Figure 2).
The few Crown Orchids seen in Zimbabwe are also not true, most of which grow in a special type of woodland savanna ecosystem, known as Miombo. The soils in these ecological areas are relatively poor, dry and rocky, and the dwarf trees in the forest are dominated by the legume brachystegia (legumes have nitrogen-fixing nodules and are generally adapted to soil-poor habitats). The outer 3 sepals of the genus Meiguan orchid are often slightly skimmed upwards, which is actually not difficult to identify in the wild, which is my wild knowledge of this genus.
Appearances:
Fig. 3-5\Eulophia guineensis - Guinean crown orchid. A model species of the genus Mechon orchid, it grows under shrubs and sparse forests, and its leaves resemble the Orchid shrimp ridge orchid in Asia, but the upwardly skimmed sepals are not deceitful. This one has been widely cultivated, such as Figure 2, the type of cultivation and breeding, the lip flap is more rose colored and more gorgeous, and the wild-type lip flap I saw in the wild is white.
The latter several are seen in the Mimbolin:
Fig. 6-8\Eulophia longisepala - Long calyx crown orchid with petals protruding forward like a dog.
Fig. 9-11\ Eulophia seleensis - reverse petal mesense orchid, the dark edges of the lip flap are very beautiful.
Fig. 12-14 \ Eulophia venulosa - dense veined crown orchid, from the sepal roll to the lip flap, even the pleat tassel on the lip flap is also rolled, if it is domestic, it may be elected as the annual national flower.
The only thing seen in the humid habitat is Figure 15\Eulophia alta-Gaumeguan orchid. At the rainbow and cliff edge of the great waterfall, the waterfall provides an uninterrupted stream of water droplets, and pollinators in this habitat should have a little courage to take risks.
