A friend of mine is travelling in Costa Rica right now. He is spending a whole month there climbing around in the mountain rainforests looking for orchids. He is telling the story as he goes and posting some beautiful photos as well. I am really enjoying following his adventures from afar […]
This is such an ethereal and elegant little Masdevallia. At first the flowers might seem a bit bland and colorless, but when you really look at them up close you see that the they are cast in an almost metallic sheen. The incredible subtle purple details inside the flowers are further accentuated by the plain outside wrapper. Quite stunning really.
Masdevallia norae originates from South America where it grows at […]
Oh I have been waiting for this one to bloom for a year now, and here it is. Finally! …and what a beautiful flower it is!! A long lasting sensual flower with elegant flowing shapes in delicate shades of cream and white… It has a very pleasant fragrance that grows a lot stronger at night. I read somewhere that it was supposed to […]
For the past few weeks I have been working on a few long awaited upgrades for the cool vivarium. Well, long awaited for me, I am not a very patient person… Now they are finally all done and I am very pleased with the results. So here is an updated photo of the viv today along with an account of all […]
In Othello, William Shakespeare wrote, “good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used.” This impressive Paphiopedilum Vinicolor orchid is a very nice familiar creature indeed. It bloomed last year in November, and here we go again. Nice with dependable orchids you can set your watch to. About being well used… well… at least it is very much appreciated.
The beautiful waxy […]
This is a very nice and fragrant little Masdevallia endemic to Costa Rica where it grows in primary forests from 950 to 1500 meters. The description of Masdevallia laucheana on IOSPE claim that is is supposed to smell like vanilla, a good friend of mine swears that his smells just like coconut, but mine definitely has a very distinct Lemon […]
This is the first time this flashy little Restrepia is blooming for me and I have really been looking forward to it. The colors and patterns of the large fused lateral sepals, the defining character of Restrepia, can be quite stunning. Restrepia muscifera is one of the most incredible of them all. I love the distinct purple dots contrasting against the bright yellow and white […]
I wrote about this lovely little Masdevallia roseola back in May, and I thought the bloom it was producing then was quite impressive. Oh, and it really was, but after only a brief rest late in the summer it is back at it again with double the effort. This has turned into quite the little specimen and I just adore it! The definition of […]
Trichosalpinx (trick-oh-SAL-pinks), mmm… say that five times fast. Trichosalpinx is a genus of about 100 tropical American species closely related to Pleurothallis. What differentiates the genus is the ringed sheaths on their stems, you can see these on the second and third photos below. The generic name actually means “trumpet with hairs,” and although I am not that fond of generic names they can be […]
This impressive little orchid practically lights up the whole room, despite its diminutive size. ‘Kai Gold’ is the clone name of my particular Ascocentrum miniatum and it definitely lives up to the name with its intense cluster of brilliant orange flowers and a bright orange spur.
Ascocentrum miniatum is, like the name implies, a miniature from the humid forests of Southeastern Asia […]
