Gongora unicolor is a warm growing epiphyte from Mexico to Central America where it grows at at altitudes of 150 to 950 meters. I usually shy away from these larger sized genera as I have limited growing space, but somehow a few Stanhopeinae tribe members have worked their way into my collection – and I kind of wish I had room for more. I have 7 flowers on this inflorescence and the shape is just magical! It looks like a swarm of wasps or tiny dragons circling the basket.
Gongora consists of 65 species found across the Neotropics where they grow anywhere from sea level up to 1,800 meters in the Andes. Gongora unicolor was registered in 1923 but several new species have been discovered in the last ten years. Many species lack the right description however, but hopefully DNA will eventually help sort out out the taxonomy of this genus too.
I grow this in my intermediate window, quite bright, potted in a wood slat basket with bark. Seems to work just fine. I am just trying to figure out what kind of pollinator is out there looking for a root beer… because that is just what it smells like…
Hi Karma! Quite a few genera (Gongora, Mormodes, Stanhopea, etc.) in the Neotropics are pollinated by male Euglossine bees, which collect the volatile compounds composing the various fragrances. If I remember correctly, these compounds are collected not to attract females, but other males in order to form what are called leks (a gathering of males for communal mating display).
Hi Zack! Thank you for the story about the Euglossine bees. 🙂 Now when you mention it I have read somewhere about bees incorporating floral fragrance in their reproductive biology kind of like pheromones, fascinating stuff really…