In nature, for epiphytic orchids host trees may provide an extremely wide range of microhabitats characterised by at times considerable differences in available light, temperature, water supply and atmospheric humidity - even on a single tree.

   Many orchid species do live at specific parts of their hosts and there is a fascinating mode of life exhibited by the so-called twig epiphytes.

   As the name implies, these orchids tend to or are growing exclusively on the distal parts of twigs or branches, at times on supports not much thicker than an ordinary matchstick is.

   Most of these "twiggies" are small plants yet may produce attractive flowers, see the popular equitant Oncidium hybrids, Comparettia, Ionopsis or Rodriguezia species - to mention a few examples. Species native to areas with expressed dry periods are regularly just as drought-tolerant as cactuses or other succulents are.

   Since twigs represent continuously expanding environments, twig epiphytes tend to be not just small but fast-growing and, alas, short-living as well.

   There are leafless twig epiphytes, out of which the Southeast Asian Chilochista spp. are quite common in cultivation - see one example in the Photo Galleries..

   The drawing at left shows such a leafless "twiggy" studied in Nayarit State, Mexico, in the Arroyo De Las Penas Blancas, 22 km south of Puerto Vallarta. In that habitat Harrisella porrecta can grows from seed to flowering stage in six months; 3-years old plants are exceptionally rare in nature.

   This tiny creature is a tough plant, it gets to the furthest north any other epiphyte occurs in the United States. Its northernmost site known is located at Alexander Springs Recreation area in northern Lake County in the Ocala National Forest.

   Under natural conditions the pollination mechanism of H. porrecta is extremely effective, in its habitats practically each flower gets fertilized and produces fruit, which apparently exhausts the plants within 2-3 vegetation cycles.

   The natural pollinator of H. porrecta seems to be specific to its habitats, because plants in cultivation so far never set fruit, which may be the reason behind the considerably longer lifespan of cultivated specimens.

   For example several specimens collected in this habitat from the very shrub shown on this photo survived in Europe for more than seven years.