Dendrobium limpidum 'Ashley'

Dendrobium limpidum is from New Guinea and belongs to the Pedilonum section of the very large Dendrobium genus.  This group of Dendrobiums have arching or pendant canes and most of them are quite large.  This plant is one of the smallest in the group.

It is considered by some to be the same plant as Dendrobium dichaeoides.  Whether the same or not I am unable to judge, but the plants do resemble another orchid genus named Dichaea with their closely set alternating leaves, and are quite beautiful in their own right.

The canes are about 10 cm in length and produce clusters of rather small flowers that impress more by their bright color and number than by their individual beauty.  The flowers are less than 2 cm but come in clusters of around 15 flowers.

Like the plants in the Pedilonum section the flowers tend to be more or less tubular.  In this case the flowers are not only tubular but do not open very far and have a lip that curls up to block most of the open end of the flowers.  This can be seen in the close-up photos.

One very nice thing about this species is that the older canes continue to produce flowers for several years, though the new canes do not bloom the first year.  The older canes eventually lose their leaves but will even then continue to produce flowers.

My plant is grown mounted and given as much light as I am able to give it.  It is watered every day and seems to be quite easy as long as the temperatures are not too high and the humidity not too low.  That it's happy is evidenced by the number of flowers this year.

Pleurothallis mathildae

Pleurothallis mathildae or Trichosalpinx mathildae, as it is sometimes known, is a small species from Brazil.  My plant is 7 cm tall and the flower spikes about the same length, the flower less than 1 cm in size.  The flowers are attractive when seen close but are very small and do not open widely.

Porroglossum driesei

The Porroglossums are a strange groups of orchids.  They all have hinged, insect trapping lips and two of the pictures below show this species with the lip open and closed.  Porroglossum dreisei is from Ecuador and blooms repeatedly on the same flower spikes, so that it is seldom out of bloom.  The plant is 4 cm tall, the flower spikes are 12 cm long and the flowers 1.5 cm, oddly shaped and oddly colored.

Masdevallia lamprotyria

Masdevallia lamprotyria is a very fragrant species from Ecuador and Peru.  It's scent will perfume a whole room, but it's colorful and oddly shaped flowers are attractive too.  It has narrow, upright leaves that are 10 cm and the flowers, produced int he spring, are 3 cm.  The name lamprotyria refers to the color of the flowers and the scent is of lilacs.

Masdevallia mendozae

Masdevallia mendozae is a cool-growing species from the highlands of Ecuador.  It is one of the species in section Saltatrices, a group of species with brightly colored tubular flowers that are lined with glandular hairs, visible in these pictures.  It is somewhat difficult to grow, at least in my experience.  I had a large plant that seemed to be gradually dying off but which has now started to come back and I do not know what caused the decline or why it has started to recover.

Paphiopedilum China Dragon

Paphiopedilum China Dragon is a hybrid of Paphiopedilum Nisqually and Paphiopedilum China Song, and has four species in its background, Paphiopedilums acmodontum, appletonianum, bullenianum, and a double dose of sukhakulii.  It has variegated foliage and blooms faithfully for me every spring.

Dendrobium leucocyanum

Dendrobium leucocyanum is a miniature species from high altitude montane forests in New Guinea.  It is cool to cold growing and produced clusters of pale blue flowers in late winter.  The flowers are 0.4cm long and do not open very widely.  The pseudobulbs with their leaves are 2-3cm tall.  The plant blooms on the older leafless pseudobulbs.  This blooming only had three flowers, the first time the plant bloomed for me, but the clusters can have many more flowers.