This week’s orchid is the Cattleya guttata, a smaller, speckled species of Cattleya. This orchid is found in Brazil, often near the coast:
Photo credit: orquideana.com.br
The blooms on this Cattleya range from two to four inches in size, whereas the blooms of other Cattleya species can be up to eight inches across (or more)!
Photo credit: delfinadearaujo.com
Cattleya guttata can be found in other colors, like this maroon-tinged version:
Photo credit: aaoe.fr
Beautiful, isn’t it?? Many Cattleya flowers are two-toned in color or are monochrome with a sort of watercolor-esque feel. So it’s fun to see a Cattleya variety with unexpected markings like this one’s speckles.
One of the craziest looking orchids I’ve seen in person is the Psychopsis krameriana, aka Kramer’s Butterfly Orchid:
Photo credit: Alex in situ, Flickr
I was just reminded of these orchids the other day while perusing the orchid selection from Silva Orchids at the Union Square Greenmarket. Silva had a couple Psychopsis plants for sale and of course I considered buying one. I managed to restrain myself – hooray!
I first encountered Psychopsis at the NYBG‘s 2009 Orchid Show. It was one of the more unique-looking orchids on display and I was completely taken with it. At first glance this orchid looks like a butterfly, but when you look closer you find something more sinister:
Skull face!
As a fan of all things sinister, I immediately fell in love with the Psychopsis. When I discovered the orchid’s name, I became even more enamored of it because I’m all about psychology. And of course I found another Psychopsis to photograph at this year’s Orchid Show:
2010 Orchid Show Psychopsis
The level of detail on these blooms is just incredible. Psychopsis orchids are part of the Oncidium family, which is known for its delicate yet detailed flowers.
The orchid I’ve chosen to feature this week is a type that literally takes my breath away when I see it in person: Vanda Robert’s Delight. This orchid comes in a variety of colors, but the purple ones are my favorites:
Photo credit: madfish1c, Flickr
I saw these Vandas on display at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx:
NY Botanical Garden
One of the things I love most about Vandas are the little skeleton-looking faces in the center of the blooms. Here’s a closer look:
Mini Skeleton Face
I don’t really have much to say about these flowers at the moment because I have a cold so my brain is sort of mush. But I think these orchids are gorgeous so I had to post something about them. I could seriously look at pictures of Vandas online all day long. Vanda porn!
This week’s orchid is the Pterostylis nutans, an orchid native to Australia and New Zealand. This orchid has a couple aliases: the Nodding Greenhood and the Parrot’s Beak Orchid. What its scientific name makes me think of is a pterodactyl, but the plant looks more Venus Flytrap than Flying Reptile. This orchid actually traps insects inside its blooms—how very Little Shop of Horrors!
Image credit: piko.com.au
Pollination is unique with this orchid. The bloom has a hinged lip that swings backward when an insect such as a gnat or mosquito lands on it. The insect is then forced to escape by crawling past the sticky flower pollen which adheres to the insect’s body, ensuring pollination of the next bloom it lands on. Neato!
Image credit: pacificbulbsociety.org
The Pterostylis nutans pollination story reminds me a bit of the Angraecum sesquipedale (Darwin’s orchid), which was Orchid of the Week about a month ago. It’s just incredible the way orchids have evolved to reproduce the best way possible for their environment. Evolution never ceases to amaze me!
This week’s orchid is one that is part of my own collection: Iwanagara Appleblossom, which I bought at Lowe’s a couple weeks ago (mine is not in bloom). According to judywhite’s book Bloom-Again Orchids, this hybrid is a man-made cross of SIX different genera (three of which I’ve never even heard of!): Cattleya x Caularthron x Guarianthe x Laelia x Rhyncholaelia x Sophronitis. It’s amazing that orchid growers were able to create such a thing of beauty:
Photo credit: Xmpraedicta, Flickr
The blooms are fragrant and can be super strong, especially in the morning. In the home, this orchid can be grown in a similar environment as cattleyas.
Photo credit: Nurelias, Flickr
I was super excited to find this orchid at Lowe’s and I just HAD to have it! Unfortunately my plant may be a bit of a project, as it only had a few decent roots by the time I finished cutting away the rotten ones when I first brought it home. I am keeping my hopes up for this one – looks like it will be incredibly rewarding if I can nurse it back to health and get it to bloom!
In honor of Independence Day, this week I chose an orchid native to the United States: Cypripedium reginae. This orchid is very similar in appearance to lady slipper orchids like Paphiopedilums and Phragmipediums – and it’s so American that it’s the state flower of Minnesota. Look how beautiful this Cypripedium reginae is, with its velvety pink, pouchy sack (my inner 12 year-old is giggling right now):
Photo credit: NC Orchid, Flickr
This terrestrial lady slipper orchid grows wild in the U.S., mostly in the upper Midwest and the Northeast. The Cypripedium reginae thrives in damp, shady environments like bogs and swamps. Flickr member pverdonk found some gorgeous specimens growing wild by the side of a highway in Michigan:
Photo credit: pverdonk, Flickr
If you ever happen to see wild orchids like the Cypripedium, it’s important to note that it is illegal to pick them or dig the plant up. I know I’d be tempted to take a wild orchid home if I came across one, but this flower and others are protected by state laws. So in the name of conservation (and, of course, abiding the law), make sure you simply take a picture; it’ll last longer anyway. 🙂
P.S. I have spotty internet service in my new apartment at the moment, so once I have internet all set up for good next week I’ll do a proper update on my orchids!
