Francisco has been fascinated with nature since he was quite small, and so went through an unbelievable variety of different interests before he finally got into orchids. As Francisco himself tells, while diving near rocky slopes in Brazil, he started noticing those very interesting and showy-flowered plants rooted directly into the rocks, quite close to the water level. The next step was to climb on the rocks, observe the different colors and shapes and, of course, collect a few to try to grow at home. At the time, he didn't know they were Cattleya guttata and C. intermedia, but he figured it out pretty fast as his collector and classifier mind started to work on the subject. That was about 20 years ago. From that point on, he has been infected with the orchid virus and, as every orchid person knows, there is rarely a cure or a way back. His interest shifted back and forth to different groups of orchids, but it seems that from now on he will stay mostly with the Cattleya alliance.

In 1979, Francisco was lucky enough to meet Guido Pabst, Brazil's leading Orchid Specialist at the time, who encouraged him to develop a career in Botany. In 1981, he took his first trip into the Amazon, staying in the Manaus area. In 1982, and back in Rio de Janeiro, Francisco really started to get serious about Taxonomy, focusing mainly on the so-called "rupiculous" laelias. In 1983, a job opportunity sent him back to the Amazon, for a one-year research project in an area that would be flooded by the Tucuruí Dam. That was a unique opportunity, impossible to pass on, so Francisco decided to put off his studies on the rupiculous laelias until later. After the end of that very positive one year in the Amazon, Francisco decided to seek a Master's Degree in Orchid Taxonomy, still in Manaus. By then, he was really interested in the Catasetum alliance as this was the most widespread and varied orchid group in the Amazon, but in 1985 he decided to go back to Rio de Janeiro; laelias were definitely his real interest. The time he spent in the Amazon solidified his interest in Taxonomy, and since then he's been working in the description of several new species, mostly still Amazon material gathered back then. Going back to Rio de Janeiro, he decided to continue with his Master's Degree but also started an Orchid Business with the main goal of propagating Amazonian species. He found out soon enough that it was very difficult to keep the plants alive in such a different environment, so he ended up propagating mostly Cattleya Alliance species. Since then, Francisco and his wife have run an orchid business in Rio de Janeiro and from 1988 to this day he's been coming to the U.S. quite frequently, to the point that he decided to open a Business in Florida.

Ever since he finished his Master's Degree, a lot of people (especially his Botanist colleagues) keep asking him why he doesn't go after a Doctorate. Francisco's answer is that his boss would never require him to do that and he won't even get a raise for going through all that work, so why bother? This usually convinces them. People also ask him why he doesn't teach, and in this case he says that although he does like to teach, he is not organized enough - and he adds jokingly that this is not getting any better with age. However, Francisco has been practicing his teaching skills every time he gets invited to speak at Orchid Societies, and just in the U.S. there are more than 100 such clubs. Francisco has also enjoyed his photography hobby since the time he lived in Manaus. That is basically why he includes so many slides on his lectures. People seem to enjoy the pictures taken of orchids in their habitat, and for his this is a good way of going back to places that in some cases don't exist anymore.

Francisco's lecture will be The Genus Catasetum In Brazil. It has been a while since Francisco Miranda spoke at our club and an even longer time since we had someone give us a presentation on catasetums. This promises to be an excellent program.

The mini-class will be on repotting Cattleyas. Attendance has been a little lower than usual, so we hope to see lots of our members there!! And don't be shy: bring your friends. We always welcome new guests.