Pleurothallis antonensis, Tatama National Park, Colombia

This is the first moment in our 10 year travel history where we finally understood the appeal of orchids. Our guide Manuel showed some extremely tiny and rare orchids from the cloud forest of Tatama. Most of the orchids at this national park rely on specific conditions and hosts, such as fungi to grow. These highly specific circumstances make them rare and almost impossible to cultivate. So rare that people actively poach them from the wild.

Some orchids take even several years to develop flowers, although not these small ones. I've got a series of similarly tiny orchids upcoming, many much more beautiful than this.