Masdevallia angulifera 'J & L'

Masdevallia angulifera is from Colombia and belongs to the Saltarices group of Masdevallias.  It has all the features of that group, colorful, tubular flowers lined with glandular hairs and a bulge at the base of the tube.  Like the other plants in the group it is small, 12 cm, with 2.5 cm flowers.  This clone is particularly dark and has been awarded by the American Orchid Society.

Masdevallia herradurae

Masdevallia herradurae or Acinopetala herradurae is a small, floriferous species from Colombia and Ecuador.  The plant is under 10 cm and the flowers are 2-3 cm.  When the plant is in bloom the flowers look like a clouds of dark insects hovering around the plant.  My plant is grown in a plastic net pot in live sphagnum.

Luzama carmenensis

Luzama carmenensis or Masdevallia carmenensis is a small species from Colombia and Ecuador.  It blooms in the spring and has large flowers in proportion to the plant.  The plant is 5 cm tall and the flowers are also 5 cm from the base of the tube to the end of the sepaline tails and from tip to tip.  The flower spikes are 9 cm and carry a single flower.  Because the flowers are semi-pendant the plant seems to do best mounted and mine is on a piece of cedar with a bit of moss around the roots.

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.

Trisetella gemmata

Nearly all my Trisetellas are in bloom at present and this is one of them, Trisetella gemmata from Colombia.  It is fairly typical 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 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.

Restrepia sanguinea 'Walter'

This plant was awarded by the American Orchid Society as Restrepia sanguinea but I've been told it's actually Restrepia guttulata.  If it is the latter species it is from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.  The plant is about 10 cm tall and the flowers are 5 cm from tip to tip.  My plant is grown in a plastic net pot in sphagnum moss and is very easy to grow.

Masdevallia herradurae

Masdevallia herradurae or Acinopetala herradurae is a small, floriferous species from Colombia and Ecuador.  The plant is under 10 cm and the flowers are 2-3 cm.  When the plant is in bloom the flowers look like a clouds of dark insects hovering around the plant.  My plant is grown in a plastic net pot in live sphagnum.

Lepanthes calodictyon

Lepanthes calodictyon is a tiny plant but very desirable especially for its foliage, though the tiny flowers are also very intricate and colorful.  It is from Colombia and Ecuador and the plant is about 5 cm tall with leaves 3 cm in diameter and flowers that are only 8 mm.  The species name refers to the net-patterned leaves.  I have trouble growing this with my cool-growing plants and am growing it now in a warmer area in a small terrarium.

Lepanthes ribes

I had given this plant up for dead but noticed today that it was putting up new growth and had even produced a flower, so I moved it to a more suitable location  in the hope it will flourish there.  It comes from Ecuador and Colombia and is only about 6 cm tall, but the flower is nearly 1.5 cm.  As is often the case with Lepanthes, it bears its flowers on thin, wiry spikes, in this case about 6 cm long.  The name of the species, ribes, refers to its fancied resemblance of the flowers to the fruits of plants in the genus Ribes.