Orchids: Botanical Jewels of the Golfo Dulce Region, CostaaRica Region, Dulce Golfo the of Jewels Botanical Orchids: Orchids Botanical Jewels of the Golfo Dulce Region, Costa Rica Imprint Publisher: Verein zur Förderung der Tropenstation La Gamba, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria, www.lagamba.at,
[email protected] Editors: D. Rakosy, M. Speckmaier, A. Weber, W. Huber, A. Weissenhofer Authors (alphabet.): C. Gegenbauer, W. Huber, F. Pupulin, D. Rakosy, M. Speckmaier, W. Wanek, A. Weber, A. Weissenhofer Illustrations: see credits p. 198 Layout: M. Ringler Language Editing: C. Dixon, A. Luck Printing: Rema-Print, Vienna Date of publication: June 2013 ISBN: 978-3-9502996-3-2 Book may be referenced as: Rakosy, D., Speckmaier, M., Weber, A., Huber, W., Weis- senhofer, A. (eds) 2013. Orchids: Botanical Jewels of the Golfo Dulce Region, Costa Rica. Verein zur Förderung der Tropenstation La Gamba. Vienna, Austria. Orchids Botanical Jewels of the Golfo Dulce Region, Costa Rica 1 Authors for affiliations see page 136 Christian Gegenbauer Werner Huber Franco Pupulin Demetra Rakosy Manfred Speckmaier Wolfgang Wanek Anton Weber Anton Weissenhofer 2 Contents The Tropical Research Station La Gamba 4 The Rainforest of the Golfo Dulce Region 6 Welcome to the Fascinating World of Golfo Dulce Orchids 8 Plant Body, Growth Patterns and Inflorescence Structure 10 of Orchids The Orchid Flower 14 Pollination Biology of Orchids 19 Fruit Structure and Seed Dispersal of Orchids 26 Orchid Diversity and Classification, with a