Congo : Photos

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Syn. Megaclinium purpureorhachis

Smells a bit like coconut.

Probably due to their small size, Bulbophyllums have experienced a surge in popularity in the last five or so years, primarily from the terrarium market. Very soon (or very recently), botanists from here in Leiden, and more importantly Vienna, are to publish a new book on Bulbophyllum, including new data from molecular studies. Be prepared for taxonomic changes! The center for Bulbophyllum research has for some time now been Vienna; the best public collection in the world is apparently in Singapore.

One of the largest Bulbophyllum species, but variable in growth, this is actually quite a small version. Here's a bigger version with a less wide hood: www.flickr.com/photos/54255865@N00/3390747055/in/set-7215...

This is also a CITES II species, but it is considerably more common in cultivation than the previous Bulbophyllum I posted. I see companies offering it for sale in Japan, Australia, Britain, Europe and the USA. At between 30 to 50 US$, it is one of the more expensive species.

It is apparently one of the easier species to grow, not mounted like most Bubophyllums, but simply grown in soil.

This is an epiphyte of lowland rainforest. The proven distribution of this species is Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon. Again, one would suspect it to occur in Nigeria, Benin, Equatorial Guinea and perhaps Togo, but there is no information extant.

I found a weird company offering plants for sale from Zimbabwe, but I can't tell if they were stolen from the wild in Zimbabwe and then some official was bribed to issue CITES documentation certifying it was grown from cultivated stock, or stolen from the wild in some other country and then smuggled to Zimb where some official could be bribed to issue CITES documentation. Alternatively maybe the company was lying or mistaken about where they got it?...
Or maybe everyone is actually telling the truth???

See under the map one of pgkivu's always interesting comments.

No geotag. See the previous photo.

Travels of My GPs (formerly GranPa BC) posted a photo:

No geotag.

Location for this photo provided by pgkivu and philKin, although philKin's is a little bit more toward the east. Here's a summary of their comments:

pgkivu's: "The photographer took the photo from a curve in the road that goes through the famous Kamaniola Escarpment. Anyone who travels along this road stops here to take this typical view. Some parts of the road are "one-way," with an audio signalization that consists of beating an empty oil barrel (called touc ) and an optical signalization that is made of a "gizmo" suspended at 3-4 meters above the ground, and raised or lowered to indicate whether the road is clear or not. The road is not asphalted, which adds another difficulty during the rainy season. That was 50 years ago and I don't think that the situation has changed much. To travel from Bukavu to Usumbura (Bujumbura, on Lake Tanganyika) was an adventure, very exciting and very beautiful."

philKin's: "I traveled this road only once, in 1954, with my parents. We had just arrived from Antwerp. We traveled by train and by car (an Opel Kadet) from Lobito, Dilolo, and Albertville (Kalémie), then by boat on Lake Tanganyika to Uvira, and finally on this road to Bukavu. Hmmm, such memories."

Thank you, guys! Here's a view of what pgkivu says about the signalization.

philKin gives also this link to an interesting blog.

No geotag.

Location for this photo provided by pgkivu. Here's a summary of his comment:

"The photo was taken around the exit of the Kamaniola Escarpment, where the Ruzizi Gorge ends, and a little bit before the town of Kamaniola. A railroad was built between Kamaniola and Lake Tanganyika in the south. The idea was to reach Bukavu in the north, but the work could not be completed."

Thank you, pgkivu!

This is almost certainly a Bouchonville photo. Photos and postcards similar to this one can be found in commercial websites that sell Bouchonville's material.
Location for this photo provided by pgkivu.
These were the Ruzizi Falls. Where stood this fisherman, stand now a dam and a hydrolectric plant. Here's another view of the falls, from pgkivu's collection.
And don't miss the next photo. It might appeal to the "Rousseauists" among us...

Location for this photo provided by pgkivu. Here's a summary of his comment:

"The photo shows the south-east tip of Lake Kivu and the mouth of the Ruzizi River, which separates the Rwanda on the left from the Congo on the right. The road leads to Cyangugu in Rwanda, and to Bukavu in the Congo. The Ruzizi Hotel is located at about 500 meters from the bridge, in Bukavu."

Thank you, pgkivu!

Geolocation provided by pgkivu. See his comment under the map.

pas l'attente des copains pour jouer ... non, l'attente d'un acheteur improbable d'un chewing gum serré depuis le début de la journée dans ma main gauche ... sait on jamais ...

elle est encore plus belle en noir et blanc ..; elle est comme un diamant !
et ses yeux ... je sais qu'ils me disent merci de ce temps partagé ... qu'ils me disent de revenir ...
je sais que tous les jours elle voit la piste rouge où foncent les camions forestiers ... je sais qu'un jour il n'y aura plus la fôret verte et noire et plus que la piste de latérite rouge ...

Have you ever lost a bag on an airline? My bags have only been delayed and temporarily misplaced. The trip to Congo is over 8,000 miles one way. For them to arrive in Bulape requires patience, a grand strategy, quick tactics, and luck. Sometimes you never know where your luggage will ultimately end up.

The bags contain the normal stuff like clothes and personal toiletries. But it also contains comfort items like kool-aid and snacks. Finally, it contains tools and supplies needed for projects.

The last two miles of the journey are sometimes to a project site located deep in bush surrounding Bulape. Then it is a step back into history and the 1800's when each bag was carried by a porter through the jungle. The paths are sometimes impassable except for by foot.

www.endingextremepoverty.org/2009/11/the-last-two-miles-a...

netclaire posted a photo:

netclaire posted a photo:

Sr Marie-Victoire Sita

Images automaticaly loaded from flickr with tags : (congo)