Epidendrum radicans

Native from Mexico through Central America to Colombia, this vigorous perennial orchid grows on the ground and clambers through grassland and roadside vegetation. Leafy canes produce conspicuous white aerial roots along their length, helping the stems attach to nearby plants. Clusters of orange flowers have yellow centres and fringed, three-lobed lips. Butterflies pollinate the flowers, which produce no nectar. It is cultivated in tropical gardens and for cut flowers and has become naturalized in parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia. In Colombia, it occurs between about 3,280 and 7,875 feet. Photographed in Pereira, Colombia.