Chytroglossa aurata

This tiny species represents everything I love about miniature orchids.  Viewed closely the flowers are amazing in their colors and in their intricacy, in this case a combination of green, yellow and brown, of spots and fringes, and arranged in rather unusual pendant, downward-facing fashion on zig-zag spikes.

The plants are 5-6 cm tall, the flowers slightly less than 2 cm and the spikes, carrying up to 10 flowers are 12 cm in length.  The species is from Brazil and belongs to a genus that includes only a few other species, which are very similar to this. 

This little orchid belongs to a family known as the Ornithocephalinae, which includes the better known genus, Ornithocephalus.  That genus has mostly white and green flowers, and so the flowers of this little species provide a welcome change in color.

Epidendrum escobarianum

I purchased this about a year ago from Ecuagenera in Ecuador.  They sent it when they were in the USA for a show, along with a number of other Ecuadorian orchid species.  When I purchased it, it was only a few mostly bare canes on an old piece of tree fern, but it has since grown vigorously enough that I have been able to send a small division of it to a friend.

The plant is semi-pendant with canes 10 cm long.  The plant tends to produce new canes a few cm from the base of the older canes, so the plant gradually gets longer and longer.  It has beautifully pattered foliage, though the patterning fades as the new canes age.  The leaves are displayed in the same way as a Dichaea, with the leaves all more or less in the same plane.

The flowers are produced in pairs at the tip of the canes and though not untypical for an Epidendrum of this type are quite large and very beautiful.  They measure around 8 cm from top to bottom and come from a rather large sheath that looks at first like another leaf.  The flowers are very waxy and very long lasting as well and are displayed back to back.

I had this plant at a recent meeting of our local orchid society and was told that it had the reputation of being very difficult to grow.  I have not found it so.  I give it as much light as I am able and water it daily without giving it a rest.  And, as with all my other orchids, it receives a tiny bit of fertilizer in nearly every watering (a pinch of 15-30-15 fertilizer to two gallons of water).

Dendrobium cuthbertsonii color forms

Once known as Dendrobium sophronitis, this tiny species from New Guinea is one of the most desirable of all miniature orchids.  Its color, the size of the flowers in relation to the plant, and the longevity of the flowers all make it a real treasure.

The plants vary somewhat in size, but are never more than a few cm tall.  The flowers are larger than the plant and come in many different colors, even in a bi-colored form.  This post shows some of the different colors of this lovely orchid.

Dendrobium limpidum 'Ashley' CBR/AOS

Dendrobium limpidum is from New Guinea and belongs to the Pedilonum section of the very large Dendrobium genus.  This group of Dendrobiums have arching or pendant canes and most of them are quite large.  This plant is the smallest in the group.

It is considered by some to be the same plant as Dendrobium dichaeoides.  Whether the same or not I am unable to judge, but the plants do resemble another orchid genus named Dichaea with their closely set alternating leaves, and are quite beautiful in their own right.

The canes are about 10 cm in length and produce clusters of rather small flowers that impress more by their bright color and number than by their individual beauty.  The flowers are less than 2 cm but come in clusters of around 15 flowers.

Like the plants in the Pedilonum section the flowers tend to be more or less tubular.  In this case the flowers are not only tubular but do not open very far and have a lip that curls up to block most of the open end of the flowers.  This can be seen in the close-up photos.

One very nice thing about this species is that the older canes continue to produce flowers for several years, though the new canes do not bloom the first year.  The older canes eventually lose their leaves but will even then continue to produce flowers.

My plant is grown mounted and given as much light as I am able to give it.  It is watered every day and seems to be quite easy as long as the temperatures are not too high and the humidity not too low.

This plant was awarded at the Northwest Orchid Society Show in Shoreline, Washington, on April 14, 2012, and was given a Certificate of Botanical Recognition.It was recognized for its growth habit and foliage and for its potential for profuse floriferousness.

Lepanthes caprimulgus

This incredible miniature plant is quite rare.  It comes from Ecuador and Peru 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, but curving over so that the flower is usually facing the plant.  The name of the flower refers to its fancied resemblance to the genus of birds which include the Whip-poor-wills and Goatsuckers.

 

Laelia sincorana

Though still a miniature, especially in comparison to most of the Cattleyas and to other of the Laelias, this is one of the larger orchids I grow, and certainly has the largest flowers of any of my orchids.  The plant is about 10 cm tall and the flowers about the same size.  The species is from Brazil and has been recently reclassified as a Cattleya.  I still think of it as a Laelia, however, and have difficulty adopting the name change.

The plant only ever produces one flower and does not bloom on every growth, but seems to bloom seasonally.  I grow it mounted under the highest light I can give it, and hold back watering a bit when the growths mature, though there are usually new growths started at the same time.  The lighter colored, flatter flower below is from another plant, slightly smaller and with a smaller flower as well.

Triotosiphon bangii

Masdevallia bangii or Triotosiphon bangii, now the correct name, is one of the smallest Masdevallias.  The plant shown is growing in a pot only 3-4 cm in diameter.  The tiny flowers are only millimeters in size and the plant only a few cm tall.  It is native to Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.  This particular plant was awarded as a Masdevallia, however, and given a Certificate of Botanical Recognition by the American Orchid Society.  It is supposed to be tolerant of a range of temperatures, but I have found it a bit finicky, dropping leaves when not happy.  I keep it cool and moist.