This morning when I was still in bed, my boyfriend texted me with this photo of mini oncidiums that he saw for $9 while running an errand at Lowe’s:
Well, that got me out of bed pretty quickly. I ate yogurt and cereal and gulped down some coffee, then went on the orchid hunt. Conveniently, this Lowe’s is only about a 10 minute walk from my house. And suddenly, I was in orchid heaven…
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted any updates on my orchid collection because there hasn’t been a whole lot going on other than the blooming of the mystery dendrobium, which, by the way, now has two blooms. Each has taken on a more pinkish and greenish tinge in the throat than when they first opened. The faint coloring is a little hard to capture in a photo, but you get the idea:
Right now, the Indian festival of lights known as Diwali is taking place, so in honor of Diwali I’m featuring an orchid that is native to India: Aerides Maculosum. It’s also known as the Cat’s Tail, Fox Tail or Fox Brush orchid. It’s a tropical epiphyte within the Vandaceous Alliance. I LOVE Vandas, so it’s no wonder I was attracted to this little beauty:
The flowers are very small, sometimes only about 2 centimeters across.
These blooms totally have that bug-eyed look in the center, just like Vandas.
Quite lovely, no? For comparison, here’s a photo of a Vanda that I took at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden:
Vanda blooms are WAY bigger than Aerides maculosum, which look like tiny gems in comparison.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
It’s baaaaaaaack…Orchid of the Week! Sorry for my lameness in skipping these posts for the past few weeks. This Sunday is my favorite holiday: Halloween. So this week I’ve chosen a spooky orchid, the Brassia arcuigera. Why Brassia? This type of orchid is also known as the Spider Orchid…and I’m terrified of spiders. Totally appropriate for a Halloween weekend post. 🙂
Brassia orchids are found in South Florida, the West Indies, and tropical America. These orchids are pollinated by female spider-hunting wasps—who knew such a thing existed??
I can’t even bring myself to search for an image of a spider to post here for comparison’s sake, because I’m so arachnophobic that I can’t even look at photos of the suckers. So you’ll just have to use your imagination on this one. But I think it’s pretty obvious why this orchid has the spidery nickname: take a look at those long, spindly “legs”! At least they’re not furry *shudders violently*.
I’m going to have to end this post soon, because looking at so many photos of spidery flowers is actually starting to make my skin crawl just a bit, despite my love for orchids. Here’s one last image:
Have a happy and safe Halloween weekend, everyone!!
Sorry that I’ve been MIA for awhile—I have just been lame and not doing my Orchid of the Week posts, and then for the past week and a half I’ve been sick. I’m still sick—might have pneumonia, actually—but something exciting happened yesterday that I have to share. My mystery dendrobium that I bought early this year at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden shop has finally bloomed! It’s a pretty, small white bloom:
It may be a little hard to see, but there is a very faint pink tinge way back in the throat of the bloom:
As you can see, a second bud is developing so this bloom will soon have a buddy. At this point, it only looks like the spike is putting out two blooms. Hopefully it will produce some more in the future!
I am so proud that I’ve kept this orchid healthy enough to bloom for me! The other orchid that I bought at the same time, an odontoglossum, bit the dust awhile back.
OK, back to resting and drinking lots and lots of water. Once I’ve fully recovered I am going to get back on the orchid blogging horse and will work on updating more regularly!
Hi from Austin! I’m in Texas for a few days, visiting my sister and nieces. My older niece turns four in a few days. FOUR! How time flies. Anyway, in honor of my visit to TX, I selected an orchid native to the state: Spiranthes cernua, aka the Nodding Ladies’ Tresses orchid. Everything is bigger in Texas? Not so when it comes to this orchid:
These flowers are only about a centimeter in size. So cute!
As a bonus for me, this orchid also happens to be native to Missouri, my home state. Next time I’m at home I’ll have to do some orchid hunting. In fact, this orchid grows wild in over half the states in the U.S., mainly in the midwest, south, and northeast. So you may be able to find them in your hometown!
The leaves are thin, upright, and look like grass, so when the plants aren’t in bloom it can be easy to mistake them for the plain old green stuff.
What type of orchids grow wild in your hometown?