My favourite orchid blooming and some other stuff

Rhynchostylis gigantea

Rhynchostylis gigantea is my absolute favourite orchid. I bought my first one from Van Rooyen Orchids several years ago. It was not quite flowering size when it arrived but it was in good condition and it adapted very well to my greenhouse and general growing conditions. It has flowered twice now and its leaves are long and robust. For a warm growing species it seems to be very tolerant of the winter climate down here in the Cape as long as you take care when watering to ensure no water ends up in the crown. I have a few others of this species now dotted about but they are still not mature enough to flower. Flower colour is variable in this species and a pure white and a red form are available as well as different splash colours. My old faithful is a common variety with pink markings on a white to cream background. This species has been hybridised with (as seed parent): Acampe, Aerides, Holcoglossum, Vanda and Phalaenopsis, (as pollen parent): Aerides, Arachnis, Holcoglossum, Luisia, Pelatantheria, Renanthera, Papilionanthe, Phalaenopsis, Sarcochilus, Trichoglottis and Vanda. These are just the true genera listed here, not the countless other hybrids crossed with this species that are registered. Interesting that there are no registered crosses with African Vandeae like Aeranthes, Aerangis, Agraecum, Cyrtorchis, Mystacidium etc. Maybe it is time to experiment...
 

Paphiopedilum insigne

In addition to my Rhynchostylis gigantea flowering, I also have a Paphiopedilum insigne in flower. I am not particularly fond of paphs. They don't really appeal to my sense of what an orchid should look like. That said they do have charm, albeit a sort of ugly charm.

 

Habenaria rhodocheila protocorms

My Habenaria rhodocheila protocorms are doing well since they were re-plated onto BM-1 with pineapple. They are shooting well now and hopefully in the next few months they should begin to start putting down tubers.

Ansellia africana - a robust African species

One of my Ansellias currently in bloom

Ansellia africana is probably one of those orchids that you will find in most collections here in South Africa. It is common and easily available commercially. Duckitt Orchid Nurseries produced large volumes of various cultivars which pretty much flooded the market. This was a good thing since the demand for this species seems to have been met at least locally. Sadly, even down here in the Cape we still get the odd travelling plant salesperson from Zimbabwe trying to sell poorly split pieces of wild specimens collected outside of South Africa. I asked one of these salespeople how it worked last year when he came knocking at our door at work. They remove large established plants from trees in Zimbabwe and crudely separate each individual cane, often with few or no roots attached. Several of these canes are forced onto holes drilled into dried stumps of Baboon's tail (Xerophyta retinervis). These plants seldom recover. Sometimes pieces of the plant are sold bare-root along with other orchids like Bulbophyllum scaberulum. Prices are cheap and variable but my question was of course how they get them through the border? Sadly these salespeople have no problem taking their wares across the border into South Africa. Our border officials are often poorly trained, corrupt, or simply don't care, or all of these. The salesperson I spoke with was quite proud of the fact that he has a friend working at the border who lets him through without any problems.

 

Ansellia africana in the wild is becoming rare as a result of illegal harvesting. This species is also used for medicinal purposes in traditional medicine and as a love charm. According to Wikipedia although Ansellia is considered a monotypic genus (only has a single species), it is made up of several species making up a species-complex ("Ansellia," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ansellia&oldid=603832571). However, this is not referenced on this page and I cannot find any published papers on the subject of a species-complex for Ansellia africana. So, for now it should still be considered just a single species. The species is quite variable though. Various colour forms are known and flowers generally appear to have less markings moving southwards into South Africa. The South African plants in KwaZulu Natal for example are nearly completely yellow in colour with very few markings on the petals. These plants are also more compact than the larger plants found further North.

Flowers usually appear in Spring or Summer although some plants are known to produce flowers in Winter. I have a large Winter bloomer and a very compact yellow variety that also flowers early. This species is quite easy to grow from seed in vitro. The seedlings however seem to be susceptible to rot when hardening off. Ansellia africana has been crossed with Graphorchis, Cymbidium, Catasetum, Cychnoches, Cyrtopodium, Eulophia, Galeandra and Promenaea. It should also breed with Grammatophyllum and Acrolophia. Pods usually take about 4-6 months before they are mature enough to use for green pod harvesting.

Plants are thirsty! I give mine plenty of water even in Winter and I fertilise with a high nitrogen fertiliser when in active growth. Plants can handle high light intensity but be careful when moving plants from a shaded position to a position that gets direct sunlight. Leaves can burn if not allowed to acclimatise to changes in light intensity. Light though is important for good flowering and flower spikes not only develop on the terminal end of the new canes but they can also develop from nodes lower down on the canes themselves which can make for an interesting display.

A visit to Duckitt Orchid Nurseries - Open Day

On Saturday 5 July Duckitt Orchid Nurseries in Darling had their open day. I was heading through to that part of the world so I made a turn early in the morning and got there just before opening time. The weather was terrible and the rain and hail were coming down intermittently. Temperatures were hovering around 7 Degree Celsius. I had packed some protocorms in a cooler box to keep them warm for a friend I was meeting at the open day and I was also looking forward to seeing the variety of flowering plants on offer. I was hoping to find some pendulous mini Cymbidiums but there were none so I drifted on towards the mass of other plants on sale. Previous open days had been a bit of a disappointment for me but this time I thought it was a good one.

 

I found a delightful little Polystachya panniculata in good condition which I popped immediately into my basket. I also selected two healthy flowering size Aeranthes arachnites to try at home. I also picked up two good looking Podangis dactyloceras, a Pleurothallis tribuloides and an Angraecum rutenbergianum. I was very happy to find a Brassocattleya Maikai Mayumi which I haven't seen in ages! I had one of these that flowered profusely for me some years ago but I left it at an ex-girlfriend's place after a not-so-pretty break-up... so I never did get the chance to recover it. I was happy with this one though and I also grabbed a pure white Laelia anceps (I just can't seem to resist Laelia anceps, even though I already have a couple - I love these too much and want more!). There were a few Trichoglottis philippinensis on offer that were in poor condition but I selected the largest one to try this species again as I mentioned in the post about my Trichoglottis rosea earlier. I am going to suspend its roots in water as I have done for the latter species and see how it goes. I also thought I had picked up a rather nice looking Vanda (Ascocenda) ampullaceum but it turned out to be a hybrid of this with Ascocentrum (Vanda) Peggy-Fu which I already have. I love these vandas though so I am not disappointed. I also have two Vanda ampullaceum specimens...

I have included a few photos here below in no particular order to give you an idea of the lovely plants on offer. I didn't fish around the labels for names I didn't know because I was shopping at the same time, so my apologies for this.

Inside the selling area

Laelia anceps

White Laelia anceps I bought

Lots of Cymbidiums

A nice collection of Cymbidium insigne

Lovely large green Cymbidium

Cymbidium hybrid with C. tracyanum as a parent!

Just gorgeous!

My camera can't handle the orange colour of this lovely bloom

Another stunner!

The Cymbidium greenhouse open for visiting on the day

 

Some flask progress to see me into the cold winter nights

I always try to do as much flasking as possible during winter. It always seems to lift my spirits when I get depressed over the state of some of my plants in my collection that clearly don't like the colder conditions. I have sown quite a few interesting little things recently and I have some additional gems waiting to be sown. Still on the mother plants I have a Brassia Rex x Brassia verrucosa crossing which I must do this week when I have a moment. This is the crossing referred to as Brassia Rising star. It is a lovely hybrid. It is interesting that crossing Brassia Rex back to Brassia verrucosa has produced such an awesome hybrid. It has won several international awards and is one of the very first orchid hybrids I actually purchased so many years ago... oddly though I can't recall whatever happened to my Brassia Rising Star! Brassia Rex is a primary hybrid with Brassia verrucosa and Brassia gireoudiana. I also have a ripe pod on my Panarica brassavolae (Encyclia brassavolae, Prosthechea brassavolae) that is due to be sown now. These should provide some excitement into the cold nights. Currently I have several flasks of developing Cymbidium insigne alba protocorms as well as several flasks of differentiating Cyrtorchis chailluana protocorms. These I am hoping to raise up to make a mass planting. My Dendrobium speciosum seedlings are doing well and I must sow some more of these to ensure enough excess for the next season and for selling at our next WBOS show. My Habenaria rhodocheila protocorms were re-plated onto a modified BM-1 just before protocorm differentiation and they have taken nicely to the new medium. So far so good with these little gems. I am going to hold onto these ones for my own collection! Other interesting babies include a friend's Eulophia primary hybrid I have developed for him (Eulophia adamanenis X Eulophia streptopetala) and some re-plated Renanthera sp. I have also sown some locals species - Bonatea speciosa (again) and Pterygodium catholicum for a good challenge.

 

Waiting in the wings are some nicely developing Haraella retrocalla pods! These are still about half way from being ready to sow but I watch them daily like a doting father.

 

Here are some quick shots of some of the babies mentioned above:

 

Cyrtorchis chailluana

Dendrobium speciosum

Eulophia adamanensis X Eulophia streptopetala

Renanthera sp.

Trias oblonga

 

Trichoglottis rosea first flowering

Trichoglottis rosea is a species from the Philippines and Taiwan according to the IOSPE website. It is a warm growing epiphyte that grows on tree trunks. My plant has done particularly well on a mount with its longest aerial roots allowed to rest with their tips in a suspended tub of water mixed with a weak solution of fertiliser. This way the plant avoids losing too much moisture. These root tips have also responded by producing additional new side shoots growing directly into the fertiliser solution.

 

The flowers took a while to form and started off as little nodes protruding from the stem opposite a leaf. The first flowers opened recently and are small and delicate and closely borne to the stem in tight bunches. The flowers usually have light yellow barring on the petals but my plant's flowers are pure white with a pink lip. This is the first Trichoglottis species I have flowered. I managed to kill my Trichoglottis philippinensis and looking back I believe that this was due to incorrect potting and not enough water. I will try this one again when I get the opportunity.

Trichoglottis rosea close-up

Phalaenopsis schilleriana

Phalaenopsis schilleriana

Phalaenopsis schilleriana is one of the original pink Phalaenopsis from which so many hybrids have been produced. I think it has much charm. It is quite a large plant and grows well either mounted or in a pot. The leaves are large and have an interesting marble patterning of grey over the green. The underside of the leaves is slightly purple, much like those of P. sanderiana, the other original pink species. P. schilleriana though has a different lip shape and the colour of the flowers is a more intense pink than those of P. sanderiana.

 

I am hoping that my plant will be a good breeder. I have successfully mounted a large number of my own seedlings of P. sanderiana on a horizontal branch mount and I am hoping to do the same with this species.

Pterostylis torquata - the Jar Jar Binks of orchids

Pterostylis torquata

Pterostylis torquata is one of three of my Pterostylis species that I currently have. This is the only one flowering at the moment but the others may flower a bit later in the year. I have always enjoyed these comical Australian orchids. These orchids are not often offered for sale in South Africa, or commonly grown but I think they have a lot of charm and they do quite well given the same growing conditions as many of our local Winter rainfall terrestrial species. I am going to try to set some seeds on this species once another flower opens so I can do an out-crossing. I have sown Pterostylis species before and they seem to be a bit fiddly in vitro much like some of our Disa species. I have just finished reading an interesting article on asymbiotic germination and media comparison of some Australian terrestrial species: Dowling, N., and Jusaitis, M. (2012). Asymbiotic in vitro germination and seed quality assessment of Australian terrestrial orchids. Australian Journal of Botany. Pterostylis nutans performed well on BM-1, as did other genera. The authors recorded seedling development on the scale of 1-5, where 1 was an intact seed testa, 2 was a ruptured testa, 3 was the development of rhizoids, 4 was the start of shoot differentiation, and 5 was the emergence of the first leaf. The results only reflect the first 4 stages and I must wonder whether this was due to timing or whether none of the species tested actually made it to stage 5? I have actually noticed this before with BM-1 with other species where the germination rates are high but the protocorms only develop to a point. I guess I will have to wait and see what happens if I am successful in setting seeds on my plants..

 

 

 

 

 

The thing about "Phalaenopsis tetraspis C1"

Phalaenopsis speciosa

Do a search for Phalaenopsis tetraspis C1 and you will get tonnes of images of arguably one of the most beautiful Phalaenopsis species... or is it Phalaenopsis speciosa... or P. speciosa var. Christiana, P. speciosa subvar. Christiana, P. speciosa var. tetraspis, P. speciosa var. imperatrix, P. speciosa var. maculata, Phalaenopsis barrtii, or Phalaenopis sumatrana var. alba? There seems to be as much confusion and argument about the validity of P. tetraspis C1 as there are images on the internet. This species has even been awarded by the American Orchid Society as P. tetraspis C1. The RHS International Orchid Registry only lists the two valid species Phalaenopsis speciosa and Phalaenopsis tetraspis. The Kew Monocot Checklist also provides validity for both of these species but lists the most significant puzzle piece (P. speciosa var. Christiana) as a synonym of P. speciosa. Therefore, the correct name for P. tetraspis C1, also listed as a synonym for P. speciosa var. Christiana by other resources should simply be Phalaenopsis speciosa.

 

Mine flowered recently for the first time. I am intrigued by the colouration of the flower. This is definitely a species worth having in any collection.

The cool nights begin their magic

Autumn is here and the nights are certainly a lot colder, down to below 15 Degrees Celsius in my sunroom now. Sunlight has become less intense and daylight hours are fewer. Many plants have been stimulated into spike formation. Some though seem to be hanging around for a bit longer without any signs yet of spike production. My old faithful Phalaenopsis aphrodite is sending out two large spikes which I am hoping will make an impressive display coming off the vertical mount this year. This plant always pushes out about 8 flowers per spike. These flowers are always of excellent form and for some reason this plant is a really good parent. I have never had any problems using either its pollen or setting pods on it, unlike my P. cornu-cervi which flatly refuses to accept any breeding. My P. schilleriana has a large branched spike on it containing about 13 or so buds. I will be selfing this one to get lots of future babies for a mass planting like the one I did for my P. sanderiana. The seedlings themselves with the colour of their leaves make for a very eye-catching display on a horizontal mount. When in bloom in the next few years I am sure it will make for an awesome sight. I have future plans to do the same with my P. violacea but these seem to enjoy being mounted on a vertical surface more than a horizontal one.

Phalaenopsis aphrodite

Phalaenopsis schilleriana

Phalaenopsis sanderiana seedlings



Next week I am looking forward to a joint session of splitting and re-potting my Disa uniflora with Patrick. We are trying something new this year. I am going to suspend my plants in mesh bags containing their fresh medium and each planted mesh bay will be given its own dedicated dripper. I have mounted a 25L drum onto the outside wall of my garage where I keep my Disas outside. I will place frozen R/O water into this reservoir to melt slowly and to feed through to the individual bags on a gravity-feed. This will allow for a slow release of cold water directly into the bags' media and will hopefully ensure cold and moist conditions required by the Disas going forward.

My little Bulbophtyllum spathulatum seedlings are ready to be mounted onto individual mounts. They are still quite small but this species prefers slightly cooler conditions so my plan was to mount some onto pieces of bottlebrush (Callistemon sp.) which by the way make excellent and long-lasting mounts for orchids. It is great hardwood which dries quickly and the bark is perfect for epiphytes. I suspended these in my seedling greenhouse to remain over winter to establish hopefully by September when I will offer them for sale at the next WBOS show. These and other dwarf orchid species are really great if you don't have much space and would probably do very well in a terrarium. Another interesting miniature in my collection is Haraella retrocalla which has very cute fragrant blooms. I should have some seedlings of this one by the end of the year. I really love the spider-like marking on the lip!

Bulbophyllum spathulatum seedlings mounted

Bulbophyllum spathulatum seedling

Haraella retrocalla

 

 

 

First flowering Phal and new plants from Plantae

I don't think that there is any other Phalaenopsis with a scent just as wonderfully overpowering as Phalaenopsis violacea. There is still much confusion between the species P. violacea and P. bellina. They are of course distinct species but the latter is a larger flowered species from Borneo, separated from P. violacea in 1995. Both like it hot and humid which often makes it a bit tricky to grow them down here in the Cape unless you have adequate growing conditions with heating. My P. violacea that I purchased some time ago from Plantae flowered for the first time and it is a stunning intense purple. I was expecting lighter flowers with a tinge of blue as the label given was "P. violacea var. coerulea" but I later discovered that this is just a synonym for P. violacea.

 

Phalaenopsis violacea

One thing about Plantae (and I am incredibly fussy when it comes to my plants) is that they offer consistently good quality plants at affordable prices and they take exceptional care in their packaging. I have always been very impressed with their plants and I get most of my pants these days from them. I recently got a new shipment from Plantae including a few interesting Bulbophyllum species (B. bicolor, B. grandiflorum and B. lobbii) as well as some Vandas and some other interesting species including Haraella retrocalla and Chilochista yunnanensis. All are doing well and I am excited to see them flower one day in the future.

 

On the seedling front not much is hapening yet although I am currently raising some Dendrobium speciosum seedlings that are a breeding from my award winning white with a deep golden yellow of Patrick's. The seedlings are growing well and I expect to have a number in the future to trade or to sell.

 

Dendrobium speciosum

 

What's blooming today?

I have some first time bloomers currently opening their first flowers for me. It is really hot and dry today outside so I have been spending much of the day just keeping things moist, especially the seedlings.

 

The first species in flower is Lockhartia oerstedii, a species from central and South America. It has the most amazing leaves which is why I purchased this one in the first place. The flowers are equally interesting and are very delicate, hanging from between the leaves in small bunches. Mine likes to be quite wet. It is mounted on a smal slab of cork and is misted automatically each day for 1 minute every hour.


Lockhartia oerstedii

Side view

The next one is Panarica brassavolae (peviously Epidendrum brassavolae). It is also a species from central and South America and also likes to be a bit wetter than other species. My plant is flowering for the very first time and the flowers are only just opening today after a very long wait! This plant is potted up in bark chips but I have mounted the pot close to the Lockhartia so that it also get the same watering regime.

 

Panarica brassavolae

Last but not least is a beautiful yellow Phalaenopsis hybrid. Although the flower shape is not perfect, and I wouldn't consider entering this one into a show, the colour is amazing and very pleasing - nice little chap.



 

Nasty neighbours - boundary lines to battle lines

http://online.findgift.com/gift-ideas/mooning-garden-gnome-pid-388178/

With the recent move to our home came the inevitable - finding a location for a modest shade-house structure to erect for my orchids in Summer. I was kindly donated an old existing shade-house structure by a friend of mine who's neighbour had told him that he could take theirs down and have the material. One hot Summer afternoon I dismantled the entire thing which was quite a job, and carted the materials off to my home just around the corner. I waited a few weeks before I had the time again on a weekend to set things into motion. I found the perfect spot in my back garden and measured out the 3.1m X 2.7 floor plan to position the four end upright posts. I began putting the frame together once I had the poles in and screwed most of it together in a single afternoon with nothing more than an electric drill, a spanner set and some large galvanised coach screws. I like screwing things together rather than using hammer and nails. Things are always easier to unscrew and to adjust or tighten when needed. Besides, I am a respectful chap and I certainly didn't want to make a nuissance of myself hammering away for the whole neighbourhood to hear while they were sitting down to Sunday lunch. Then, a rather stern looking face appeared, only just, above the 1.8m high vibacrete wall which draws the boundary lines between me and one of my neighbours. It was strange seeing her like this for the first time. I had been living here for three months already and all the other neighbours had made the effort to at least say hello when me moved in. One even brought us a freshly baked cake to welcome us to the neighbourhood and another kind and friendly elderly German lady who lives right at the end of our street popped in to congratulate us on the move and to offer her baby-sitting service if we needed it! Under the grey blue (or is it an odd violet colour?) hair of the ellusive-until-now neighbour I could see the accusation and the disapproval swelling deep in her beady little eyes. I could not see her mouth but she spoke briefly while affixing her stare to my shade-house frame. "What are you making there?" she enquired with a tone of ice. "Hello! It is good to finally meet you" I replied. "I am making a shade-house for my orchids" thinking that most if not all elderly people have a deep love and respect for orchids... "That (shade-house frame) doesn't look good at all, not good at all" she repeated. Somewhat startled I replied to her to then tell me how a shade-house structure should look. She gurgled a few mumbles and then composed herself before uttering that this thing (shade-house) would affect the re-sale value of her property and she didn't want to see it at all. I was rather puzzled how an orchid shade-house in the neighbour's garden could influence the sale of one's own property and I pondered this for a few minutes while sipping on a cold beverage in the kitchen. A wave of sympathy gripped me and I went off to inform the wife that I didn't want to bereave the old lady next door and that I would consider taking it down. To my surprise my wife let fly and under no circumstances was I to do anthing of the sort! Armed with this new-found support I headed back outside to continue with the structure. A few minutes later the old lady materialised half obscured again by our boundary wall. Again she protested so I packed up my tools and headed inside. This time I had a plan. I would seek municipal approval in the following week for the structure based on the rules set out in the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act (Act 103 of 1977) which allows for the erection of minor building works without the need for building plans as long as permission is granted by the district municipality. Greenhouses by the way are included as minor building construction and may be up to 10m X 5m without plans. So, I contacted the Overstrand Municipality's Town Planning Department and sent in my request in writing together with a detailed sketch of the structure and its building materials and use. The next day my wife received a phonecall from the disgruntled neighbour but this time she was particularly rude to my wife. This was of course very short-sighted. Anyone who knows my wife will know that this is like teasing a pit-bull terrier. My wife sternly informed the old lady that we had lodged a written request for permission with the municipality. To this the neighbour replied that she would do whatever she could to stop the process! So I waited...an entire week went by and I picked up the phone to enquire at the municipal offices as to the fate of my shade-house. A lovely lady on the other side of the phone told me that it was scheduled to be discussed in a meeting that afternoon and that I would have a response by the following day. Two days later I received written permission from the municipality with the inclusion "you do not have to request the permission of your neighbours as long as it is built within the property building line..." The next weekend I took out the old measuring tape and duly lifted the structure and relocated it a further 30cm away from the boundary to the building line. This time the structure was now in fuller view of the neighbour and I could sense the beady little eyes watching me from inside behind curtained windows. I progressed with the roof beams and just as I completed the roof and was about to begin working on the interior staging I heard a familiar voice. This time the tone had changed from ice to a more pleasant and polite tone. "Please man" she began "can you not just make it a bit lower?" Now, under normal circumstances a request like this would have been met with a compromise from my side but after all the nonsense prior, and the fact that my shade-house is only 2m high I simply and sternly responded that I would be leaving it the way it was and that I would not be entertaining any further discussion about it. The neighbour retired into her home. Ironically, the front door is decorated with stained glass images of orchids! After some more thought some time later after I had completed the shade netting, I realised that my neighbour should be lucky that I am not as crazy as some of the orchid-characters mentioned in Eric Hansen's book "Orchid Fever." She should count her blessings. However, a colleague did mention I should purchase a mooning garden gnome to pose for her in clear sight of her double-storey window... but why start a war when you have already won the fight?

Little Trias cambodiana

I have never really been into Bulbophyllum species or similar orchids really. Not that they aren't gorgeous of course but they always seemed a little bit fiddly to me for some reason. Maybe just a silly misconception. Anyway, I have recently taken an interest in Bulbos and their closely related cousins the Trias species. Partly to thank for my curiosity into particularly the mini-miniatures was the availability of their seeds some time back... so I purchased a few species to sow and to try out. They all turned out to be pretty easy grown from seed and so far all those few species that I have worked on seem to be quite tough little chaps. While I moved to Hermanus in 2012 Richard plated some of my Trias cambodiana seedlings up for me which I got back in 2013. They hardened off well and seemed to acclimatise better to mounting than to seedling trays of bark chips. Currently I have moved the rest of my tray-bound seedlings to a fig-root mount to see how they get on. I am curious to see how long they take before they are mature enough to flower. The convenient thing about these tiny plants is that they don't take up much room at all, neither in flask or when mounted - a great orchid to have if you have limited space. I guess a terrarium would also suite these little gems.

 

Trias cambodiana is a relatively recent species discovery. It was described by Christenson in 2003, which is barely a decade ago. The flowers are small, 1.25cm wide X 1.60cm tall according to the IOSPE website and arise singly from a short inflorescence. Not as showy as Trias nasuta but still an interesting little flower which contrasts well with its foliage. I am still trying to decide what temperature range my seedlings prefer. IOSPE says cool to hot growing... my seedlings seem to prefer an even warm temperature with about 60% humidity which has encouraged new shoot growth. This species also likes frequent watering. Mine are sprayed once or twice daily depending on how hot it is.

 

I recently re-plated some Trias oblonga onto their final medium so these shouldn't take too much longer before they are large enough to harden up and to pot up. I also have a mystery Trias species which I have also raised from seeds which is hardened off and seems to be a bit larger than T. cambodiana. The leaf is also slightly twisted and the psuedobulb is more compressed. I will wait to see what this one is when it flowers since I purchased the seeds as Rhynchostylis gigantea! There was certainly a mixup somewhere but at least I know that the supplier I purchased the seeds from has a lovely collection of Trias and Bulbophyllum species :). One of his Bulbophyllum species I am currently raising from seeds is Bulbophyllum spathulatum (previously Rhythionanthos spathulatum). This species too has proven to be easy in vitro so far. This one however has a face only a mother (father) could love!

Trias cambodiana seedlings mounted

Trias species seedlings