Alex Hirtz is a renowned orchid explorer from Ecuador who has been involved in the discovery of over 1,000 new species. He has many diverse and eclectic interests, is president of the Fundacion Botanica de Los Andes, and is a fascinating man with a great sense of humour. Alex told me about his theory of rapid evolution, and at first I could hardly believe what I was hearing. He believes that an explosion in the evolution of certain genus’ of orchids is taking place in the neotropics of South America, and that these entirely new orchids are emerging in only a few decades and colonizing previously explored areas.
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