In the historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu there are more than 400 species of orchids, some of them native to this natural area protected by the Peruvian State.
Orchids were known by both pre-Inca and Inca cultures, and this is reflected in ceramics and textiles. In his work “Real Comments of the Incas” Garcilaso de la Vega gives an account of a beautiful flower called wiñay huayna, which in Quechua means “forever young”, which abounds in the Vilcanota river valley.
In 1942, the famous archaeologist Julio C. Tello named an archaeological complex within the historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu: Wiñay Hayna, due to the abundance of orchids.
The orchid family, called “Orchidaceae”, is the most diverse of the group of flowering plants and represents between 25,000 and 35,000 species in the world, according to botanists. They range from tiny, moss-like plants to massive, leafy, shrub-like ones.
In Peru the orchids can be found between 500 and 3,000 meters above sea level, especially in the cloudy forests. The historic sanctuary of Machu Picchu is rich in orchids. In its 38,448 hectares, there are around 1,000 species.
In 2015, the prestigious international magazine “Icones Orchidacearum” published an article about the discovery of three new species unknown to science: “Epidendrum ochoar”, “Epidendrum inca huamani” and “Epidendrum mormontoy”.
Orchid flowers are generally hermaphroditic and bilaterally symmetrical. The flowers are made up of three external elements called sepals, two lateral and one dorsal, and three internal elements called petals, the lower one modified into a lip or labellum, larger in size and more intense in color than the others. remaining.
The labellum is often trilobed with fleshy ridges or a basal spur, and often with a completely different color pattern than the other two petals.
97% of orchid species need a pollinator for the transfer of pollen grains from one plant to the pistils of another, in order for fertilization and seed formation to occur. Orchid pollen is grouped in compact masses called pollinia, in such a way that by itself, or by the action of the wind, the pollen cannot get from one flower to another, so pollinators are essential to ensure its reproduction. .
These pollinators are very varied and, depending on the species, can be flies, mosquitoes, bees, wasps, butterflies, beetles and birds, especially hummingbirds, which are responsible for collaborating with the reproduction of this beautiful flower.