Spilotantha chaetostoma

Also known as Masdevallia chaetostoma, this small plant is also from Ecuador.  The plant is 6 cm tall, the flower spikes 15 cm and the tiny white and yellow flowers, are 1.5 cm.  My plant is grown in sphagnum moss in a plastic net pot and blooms faithfully every spring.  It is from Ecuador and like cool temperatures and good humidity.

Epidendrum quisayanum

This rather odd plant is from Ecuador and has 10 cm cane-like growths with soft leaves.  The flowers come several at a time at the end of the growths and are only 2 cm in size, but the bright color makes up for their smallness.  The plant requires cool to cold temperatures and is from the mountain forests.  My plant is grown in sphagnum in a small basket.

Dendrobium sulphureum var. sulphureum

This is another high-altitude species from New Guinea in the Oxyglossum section of Dendrobium.  Like most of the other plants in the section, it needs cool temperatures, good light and humidity, and also like the species in the section has triangular flowers in bright but unusual color combinations, in this case, pale yellow flowers with a dark green column and an orange mid-lobe.  The canes are 13 cm long and the 3 cm flowers come two or three at time and last many months.  Even after the leaves fall from the canes they continue to produce flowers.

Sophronitis acuensis

Sophronitis acuensis is a species from Brazil, as are all the species in the genus.  It is now reclassified as Cattleya, but by any name is colorful and desirable.  Its flowers are slightly smaller than the better known Sophronitis coccinea and the plant is much smaller, the individual growths only 4 cm tall, smaller than the 5 cm flowers.  My plant is mounted on a moss covered branch and receives very high light.  Like the other Sophronitis species it prefers cooler temperatures.

Dendrobium seranicum 'Brendan'

Dendrobium seranicum is a high-altitude species from New Guinea that loves cool temperatures, high light and lots of water and humidity.  I grow it mounted on a piece of cork bark.  The plant is 8 cm tall and the very long-lasting flowers are 3 cm.  It belongs to the section Oxyglossum which includes some of my favorite orchids.  They have brightly colored long-lasting flowers, and with a few exceptions are miniatures.

Sigmatostalix uncinata

Sigmatostalix uncinata is a recently described species from Ecuador.  It is related to Oncidium and has the same growth habit, a single leaf at the top of an oval pseudobulb and the pseudobulb surrounded by several sheathing leaves.  The plant is 12 cm tall and the flowers 2 cm.  It seems to do well with my other cool-temperature orchids and is mounted on a small piece of tree fern.  It seems to bloom every couple of months with two to three flowers per flower spike.