Pleurothallis titan

What a magnificent plant. Canary yellow flowers with enormous sail like leaves. Pleurothallis (Acronia) titan is one of our most distinctive orchids and one a handful of gigantic pleurothallid species. A mature plant stands about 3' tall. You might mistake the heart shaped leaves for an Anthurium, except for the characteristic "frog" flowers appearing near the top, identifying it as a pleurothallid in the subsection (or section) Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae.

Pleurothallis titan grows as an epiphyte in cloud forests in the western cordillera of Colombia and in Panama at about 1000 to 1300 meters elevation. The species was described by Carlyle Luer in Selbyana in 1977 as Acronia titan.

Our plants flower almost continuously in the Tropical High Elevation House. You can't miss them. They do well as terrestrials in our loose soil medium of fir bark, charcoal and permatill. They also thrive as epiphytes, although their enormous size at maturity can pose problems -they need to be very firmly anchored to a tree.

A couple of plants that I cross pollinated in February are currently bearing capsules. We track and record the maturation data for every capsule we produce. When the capsule begins to split, we will sow the seeds in our lab. We plan to distribute some of the flasks and keep some of the seedlings for our collection.

A Little World

Do you love miniatures? Miniature orchids have a fan base of ardent followers who love to treasure hunt in the Tropical High Elevation House. And there are lots to find. You will find Masdevallia Maui Lollipop directly across from the entrance.

Tucked in the trees are some Dracula inaequalis with their bell-like flowers. Inside the bell is a tiny petal (the lip) that is hinged, like a clapper.

The tangerine flowers of Masdevallia Kimballiana are a terrific find in the back of the High Elevation House. Kimballiana flowers almost continuously throughout the year. And there are many more! Stop by this Mother's Day weekend.

Paphiopedilum chamberlainianum

Paphiopedilum chamberlainianum is one of the prettiest slippers in our collection. And although our plant originated in a commercial laboratory, it is impossible for me to look at it without remembering that the history of this species in cultivation is bittersweet.  P. chamberlainianum was part of the great wave of 19th century orchid introductions motivated by profit, not science.

Paphiopedilum chamberlainianum is endemic to a fairly small area on the island of Sumatra. It was introduced into cultivation in Britain the late 1890's by the orchid nursery, F. Sander & Sons. The nursery, founded by Henry Frederick Conrad Sander in 1881, specialized in orchid species and was supplied by numerous collectors commissioned by Sander to collect plants in both New and Old World tropics. Sander & Sons was just one of several firms fueling the orchid craze with vast quantities of orchids.

One of Sander's collectors, Wilhelm Micholitz, collected extensively on expeditions to the Philippines (Phalaenopsis micholitzii), Moluccas, New Guinea (Coelogyne micholitzii), Burma and South America. Micholitz shipped Paphiopedilum chamberlainianum (as P. victoria-regina) to Sander & Sons from Sumatra. Like many slippers, P. chamberlainianum has an extremely narrow distribution, making it vulnerable to over collection and habitat loss.

Our Paphiopedilum chamberlainianum seems to always be in flower. Each inflorescence produces four to eight flowers, opening one at a time over a period of several months.

If you're having trouble distinguishing Paphiopedilum chamberlainianum from other closely related species, remember that P. chamberlainianum is characterized by stripes on the dorsal sepals, P. glaucophyllum by its glaucous (dusty blue-grey) leaves, and P. liemianum by leaves bearing hairs on the margins and purple spots on the undersides.

Our Paphiopedilum chamberlainianum is happiest when we can keep the greenhouse temperature in the intermediate range (58º night minimum; 82º day maximum), a task grown more challenging in recent years as the outdoor temperatures trend upward.

The Necklace Orchid

Coelogyne monilirachis growing in the Fuqua Orchid Center

The most remarkable orchids aren't always the largest. Coelogyne monilirachis is a great example.

Coelogyne monilirachis is a tropical orchid with gorgeous dark bronze leaves and translucent orange flowers. Even the flower spike is extraordinary. The flowers are borne successively at the end of what looks like a strand of beads. Monilis means necklace-like.

In the wild Coelogyne monilirachis grows as an epiphyte in lower montane forests at 1100 to 2700 m in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo.  In the Fuqua Orchid Center our plant has flowered continuously for a couple of years. I have never seen another one in cultivation. Stop by and discover this wonderful orchid!

The Short Life of a Sobralia Flower

Sobralia turkeliae in the early morning

Sobralias produce some of the most ephemeral flowers in the entire orchid family. The poignant combination of beauty and brevity in nature is a source of wonder to some and disappointment to others. Alex D. Hawkes, in his Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids, notes sadly, "The blossoms of Sobralia are usually large and handsome, and occur in a wide range of colors, but unhappily they seldom persist in perfection for more than a day or two. Despite this failing, they are produced over a long period of time... and their extravagant beauty never fails to attract attention." And he goes on to say that great opportunities await some enterprising breeder.

The flowers of Sobralia atropubescens last just one day

Why should the ephemeral nature of Sobralia flowers be thought of as a flaw? Can the value of a living thing really be measured by the hours, weeks or years that it survives?

On the day when a Sobralia flowers, it never offers up just one or two shy blossoms. The entire plant, every reedy stem, bursts into flower simultaneously as the sun rises. And it's not uncommon for all of the plants of a given species, like the S. atropubescens pictured above, to flower on the same day in the Orchid Display House. To me it feels like a privilege to see so much concentrated beauty.

Pleurothallis titan, Clamshell Orchid

Visitors to the Topical High Elevation House often react with confusion when they see the heart shaped leaves of Pleurothallis (Acronia) titan in the Fuqua Orchid Center. Aroid? Begonia? Few people guess that this plant with Philodendron-like leaves and clamshell flowers is an orchid.

Pleurothallis titan

I love the canary yellow flowers that this orchid produces year round. But what's really marvellous about this plant is its ability to overturn commonly held notions of what an orchid looks like. At first glance the clamshell may not look like a Cattleya flower, but upon closer inspection...