It is not easy to find these exotic flowers. And not just because they are quite rare — they have been observed us in symbiosis with the pine trees Pinus krempfii and Pinus dalatensis. These miniature terrestrial orchids are so small that from a human's height, we can only see the 'caps' of their flowers peeking out from the stems, surrounded by tiny single leaves. On cloudy days, they can be difficult to spot. But on a sunny day, when the rays of light reach the forest floor, these little flowers glow with a rich magenta. I first saw them in reality when I bent down on the path, photographing the large fallen cones of Pinus dalatensis.

I had looked through photos of Corybas annamensis in other people's photo sets many times before, but their truly tiny size exceeded all expectations. I just shouted to my husband: "Stop, don't move, and especially—don't step off the path!" In that spot, beneath the crown of an old Pinus dalatensis, the ground was covered with flowers — both on the path and around the moss-covered roots. It was a true miracle to see them in the wild like this, without knowing the exact locations where they grow, purely by chance. Now, having seen them bloom more than once, in different places within the same habitat, I am still amazed by these fabulous creatures, with their whimsically curved "antennae," reaching for the sun.