Monday, February 15, 2016

Porroglossum rodrigoi

Tiny but colorful describes this miniature orchid from the Pleurothallid group.  Porroglossum rodrigoi is from Colombia and belongs to the same group of orchids as Masdevallia and Pleurothallis, and is, in fact, closely related to Masdevallia.  All the Porroglossums have a lip that springs up when disturbed by a small insect, trapping the insect temporarily against the column and effecting pollination.  The species has beautifully patterned 3 cm leaves, 9 cm flower spikes that produce a few 1.5 cm flowers in succession.  It requires cool temperatures and does bested for me mounted a piece of cedar shingle.  The photos show the flowers both with the lip open and closed.





2 comments:

  1. It's nice that you can grow orchids Ron.
    This one is beautiful.

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    1. Thanks for the kind comments, Thel. They are much appreciated.

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