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.

Porroglossum rodrigoi

The Porroglossums are all miniature plants and all have an insect-trapping lip that springs up and mashes the insect against the column when the insect visits the flower, thus effecting pollination.  Two of the photos show the flower with the lip open and closed.  Porroglossum rodrigoi is a micro-miniature species from Colombia with beautifully patterned 3 cm leaves, 9 cm flower spikes that produce a few 1.5 cm flowers in succession.  The species is named for a Colombian orchid collector and requires cool temperatures to trive.  My plant is grown on a small piece of cedar shingle with some moss.