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.

Dendrobium cuthbertsonii bicolor

Here is another clone of Dendrobium cuthbertsonii, this a bicolor.  Though the flowers are not as large as some of the more modern selected clones, this has very clear color and a very well defined between the two colors of the flowers.  Like others of this species the plant is very small, less than 3 cm, with flowers that dwarf the plant and last for months.  The species is from New Guinea and is cool-growing, but requires high light, a combination not all growers are able to give it.

Paphiopedilum helenae

This species is one of the smallest of the Paphiopedilums and a fairly recent discovery (1996).  Paphiopedilum helenae is from Vietnam and the plant is only 12 cm across with 5 cm flowers.  I've seen different examples of the species and there is considerable variation in flower color and shape, but I have not seen any that were not charming.  Interestingly, this species does best for me when grown with my Masdevallias and New Guinea Dendrobiums in cooler conditions.  Perhaps that is just due to the fact that it gets higher humidity and better light when grown with them, but it thrives and blooms under those conditions.

Lepanthes ingridiana

Lepanthes ingridiana is a rare species from Ecuador whose flowers are some of the largest in the genus.  The plant itself is also quite large for the genus, 15-20 cm tall.  It bears a single 6 cm leaf on an upright stem with the typical bracts of a Lepanthes and flowers that would be 8 cm long if laid flat.  The plants are native to Ecuador and Columbia and come from higher elevations.  They require cool temperatures in cultivation.  My plant is grown in sphagnum moss in a plastic pot.

I've also added a few other pictures on black and taken at an earlier date that I had not posted before.

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.

Dendrobium hellwigianum

I have two different plants of Dendrobium hellwigianum, one of them a darker pink and with less of a bluish cast to the flowers.  The species seems easy enough to grow when given cool temperatures and high light.  In this case the plant is 10 cm tall and the individual flowers between 3 and 4 cm and usually produced in pairs at the top of the pseudobulb and between the narrow channeled leaves.  Like all the Oxyglossum Dendrobiums the flowers are very long-lasting.