Dendrobium masarangense var. masarangense

The name of this tiny species is bigger than the plant or the flowers.  The plant is a tiny cluster of thin pseudobulbs and needle-like leaves about 7 cm tall and the flowers are about 1.5 cm, growing in pairs and showing themselves just above the pseudo-bulbs.

The plant is from New Guinea and is another one of the Oxyglossum Dendrobiums.  It is a lowland species and somewhat warmer growing than many of the others.  It varies some in color from white to pale yellow, green, or orange, the flowers in every case being nearly translucent.

Lepanthes ingridiana

This is one of my favorite Lepanthes with its colorful and unusual flowers.  It is also one of the larger plants in the genus.  The plant itself is about 15 cm tall, though my plant seems to get taller with each new growth.  It bears a single 5 cm leaf on an upright stem with the typical bracts of a Lepanthes.  The plants are native to Ecuador and comes from higher elevations.

The bright yellow spidery flowers are huge for the size of the plant.  Fully extended they would be around 7 cm long, but they tend to hang in a kind of half-circle under the leaves.  The flowers appear successively with a new bud forming as the previous flower opens.  The plant is almost always in flower, therefore, with each new growth adding its succession of flowers to those already blooming.

Dendrobium sulphureum var. sulphureum

This is another miniature Dendrobium from section Oxyglossum and from New Guinea.  My plant is about 6 cm tall and produces 3-4 cm flowers.  As with all the flowers in this section they are very long-lasting and the plant seems to be always in bloom.  I grow it mounted and give it as much light as I possibly can, keeping it just inches below the HO lights in the orchidarium in which it grows.

Scaphosepalum anchoriferum

Scaphosepalum is a genus related to Masdevallia and Pleurothallis and belonging, therefore to the Pleurothallid alliance. All the species in the genus, a total of about 15, have very unusual flowers. This species comes from Costa Rica and Panama. It is around 8 cm tall, with pendant spikes about 5 cm long that bloom repeatedly, one flower at a time. The flowers themselves are 1 cm long and very intricate and highly colored. The plant likes cool and moist conditions and because it spikes are pendant needs to be mounted or grown in a small mesh basket.

Trisetella klingeri

I purchased this plant as Trisetella sororia, which it most definitely is not.  I believe instead that it is Trisetella klingeri, from Ecuador.  The plant is tiny, like all Trisetellas, only about 3-4 cm tall, and the flowers, born on 6 cm spikes are about 1 cm in size.  This plant was at one time classified as a Masdevallia, but was separated into its own genus in the 1980's.  It is named after an American orchidist.

Platystele ovatilabia

This tiny species is native to Mexico and all of Central America.  Very widespread, it is also tolerant of different temperatures, though it needs good humidity.  The plant it self is about 3 cm tall and grows as a mat of narrow leaves.  The flower spikes, which are about the same length as the leaves, carry 4-5 flowers at a time and continue to bloom for a lengthy period.

Trisetella dressleri

Trisetella is a small genus of tiny orchids that used to be classified as Masdevallias, and the resemblance is obvious.  Trisetella dressleri is from Panama and is named after an American botanist, Robert Dressler.

The plant is only 3 cm tall and the flowers about 1 cm in size.  The plant will do well either in a small pot or mounted, but needs cool temperatures since it is from the high cloud forests.