By: Biol. Matias Amezcua
“Los Chimalapas” region, located between Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Veracruz, is kaleidoscope of biodiversity, with approximately 595,000 hectares, it is the largest area of tropical rainforest in Mexico, More than 24 years ago in this region a group of Mexican researchers found a true jewel of Mexican orchids: Mexipedium xerophyticum.
Of the group known as “lady’s slipper orchids“, whose overexploitation due to its beauty and rarity has endangered practically the entire group of these plants, a few specimens were discovered in 1990 in a remote and inaccessible site: a “lady’s slipper” endemic to Mexico.
Thanks to in vitro cultivation in laboratories around the world, efforts are being made to prevent its illegal commercialization, since it is not an easy species to cultivate and can reach exorbitant prices.
The Vallarta Botanical Garden invites you to celebrate the great wealth of Mexican orchids. Come visit it!
