What's Blooming

Gongora portentosa

Secret Garden, Cloud Forest

Gongora portentosa, an orchid species native to the montane forests of Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, thrives at elevations between 1000 to 1600 meters. It primarily grows as an epiphyte in wet tropical biomes, germinating on and attaching itself to trees. Featuring pendulous inflorescences that can grow up to 90 cm, this species has their flower spikes hanging downward, unlike the typical orchid inflorescences!

The genus Gongora is named after Antonia Caballero y Gongora, a viceroy of New Granada (present-day Colombia and Ecuador) and governor of Peru during an important botanical expedition, which was initiated by A.R.J Turgot, Prime Minister of Louis XVI, in 1975 to explore Peru, to recover the lost collections of Joseph de Jessieu, a French botanist and explorer. Flowers in this genus have a distinctive flower shape that resembles hanging earrings or tiny dragons, depending on the viewer’s perspective. As the flowers of Gongora orchids hang downwards, the flowers are upside-down, with the lip facing outwards. This unusual orientation is a characteristic of this genus.

Many Gongora species also produce strongly scented flowers! They exhibit a range of distinctive aromas, while some species have scents reminiscent of sweet cloves or cinnamon, others may smell like unburned candle wax or nutmeg. The unique fragrances of Gongora orchids plays an important role in attracting pollinators, whereby the scent mimics certain chemical cues that appeal to specific insects, such as the male Euglossine bees, where they gather aromatic compounds. Pollination takes place when the bees try to attempt to reach the floral source inside the flower structure. The bees then store these fragrant substances in specialized pouches on their hind legs, whereby later during courtship rituals, these collected scents are released by the males to attract potential mates. Come and spot this blooming Gongora at Cloud Forest’s Secret Garden, next to the miniature orchids exhibit! 

This article is part of our What's Blooming series.