My brother is currently traveling in Thailand during a break from teaching in China. So this week I decided to feature an orchid native to Thailand, where in the next few days my brother is going to be ziplining, riding an elephant, going to a flower festival (yay!), trekking to local tribes in the hills, and more.
Upon googling orchids native to Thailand, I discovered the crazy little gem that is Bulbophyllum putidum:
I think this orchid looks like some sort of circus clown—I mean, really, check out the striped pants on this one:
.jpg "Bulbophyllum putidum")
Side note: I started googling “clown striped pants” to find an image for comparison, and I came across this creepy ass costume called “Evil Clown Child Costume.”
Um, I would probably run screaming from a child in that costume, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, back to the Bulbophyllum. Here’s a whole mess of them:
Apparently this orchid is often mislabeled as “Bulbophyllum fascinator” and in addition to Thailand, it’s also found in Burma (Myanmar), Laos, and Vietnam. I especially love the image below, where you can see an unopened bud above the flower. Orchid buds are really interesting little items even when they haven’t opened yet!
In a bit of non-orchid news, apparently Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow this Groundhog Day. Here’s hoping the folklore comes true this year—I’m tired of wearing my damn snow boots everywhere. Happy Friday, everyone!
4 comments
I think they also resemble insects like dragonflies.
Oh, I can see that too!
I totally saw a clown too! But an Ed Grimley/ZZ Top/Clown with his kidneys exposed.
i grow orchid, but its no have flower.