Quick edits from the orchid garden in Santa Elena, which is home to the world’s smallest orchid. Most of the tiny orchids which are millimeters in size grow underneath the leaves for protection. Many fascinating facts and events were gleaned from this excursion. Some of the flowers smelled like Nivea cream, others like pina colada and then there are some, when wet, smell like blood. The giant tarantula killing wasp is attracted to the spider orchid when the flower gives off a fake female wasp pheromone. The orchid does this achieve pollination. Fascinating tour and very knowledgeable guide. She loves her orchid. We also got to meet the resident agouti which is a Costa Rican rodent that resembles a tiny capybara.
Other native flowers showed up throughout the gardens and it was fun to try and guess the face of the orchid before the guide told you. See if you can identify the tiny ghost orchid.
PURA VIDA
Justy Dennis 