Trisetella gemmata

The Trisetellas are all related to Masdevallia and were at one time classified with them.  Trisetella gemmata is fairly typical of most of the genus, both in the color and size of the flowers and in plant size.  The plant is a cluster of narrow channeled leaves about 4 cm tall, and the rather strange flowers are about 3 cm in size. It produces its flowers during the winter and each flower spike produces a succession of 4-6 flowers.

The plant is from Colombia and from high altitudes and does best in cool to cold temperatures with high humidity.  I grow it mounted on a piece of bark and water it nearly every day.    Its name, gemmata, refers to the sparkling texture of the flowers which is very hard to capture in a photograph, and Trisetella, the genus name, refers to the three thread-like tails of the flower.