Polycycnis barbata

If there is a prettier Polycynis, I've never met it. Never mind that barbatus means 'bearded.'

How are the flowers pollinated? A euglossine bee lands on the lip (the spade shaped platform with the hairs) and moves toward the center to scratch for the fragrance. His weight pulls the entire flower down. When he launches into the air to transfer the collected fragrance from front to hind legs, he hits the tip of the column and receives the pollinarium with its sticky viscidium on  his thorax. Polycycnis barbata is pollinated by Eulema speciosa.

Polycycnis barbata grows as an epiphyte at 160 to 1500 meters, ranging from Costa Rica, south to Peru.

We grow Polycycnis barbata in our warm greenhouse (64º night minimum) in 80% shade, potted in a mixture of premium sphagnum and tree fern fiber. We repot annually when the new shoot emerges. If you like Polycycnis, check out Polycycnis muscifera here.