Lush Orchids Flowering in Cuban Mountains

Lush Orchids Flowering in Cuban Mountains Artemisa, Cuba, Aug 4. – The lush flowering of Cuban orchids distinguishes the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve, which in the summer period shows all its splendor.  Experts say the typical summer weather conditions favor the development of thousands of flowers in the mountains, varieties which, despite their fragility, are recovering from the damage caused by hurricanes Gustav and Ike in August and September, 2008.

High temperatures and rainfall are conducive to the flowering of native plants in the island, which are usually small, while in winter exotic plants sprout, Lidia Esther Santacruz, who is a researcher at Soroa Orchid Garden, told Prensa Latina.

Soroa Orchid Garden, located in the hills of Pinar del Rio province, is the biggest in the country and has 700 species of orchids from different latitudes.

In the west of the archipelago, Sierra del Rosario and the peninsula of Guanahacabibes host valuable populations of orchids, which besides their ornamental virtues, are used as a kind of thermometer to verify the health of ecosystems.

In Cuba, there are more than 300 varieties of orchids, a third of them located in the west of the country.(Prensa Latina)