Cattleya jenmanii rubra

Bulbophyllum romyi B.Thoms 2015

I saw this plant this orchid yesterday.   I was told a shipment that arrived on the island labeled as Bulb fascinator, turned out to be all Bulbophyllum romyi.  This is one case where I am sure nobody is complaining.  The color of this orchid makes it very hard to get a good photo.  I had to use the phone camera to capture the incredibly dark lip.  When I took photos with my DSRL camera, the flower comes out red, beautiful, but highly unrealistic.  The plant I saw is still young, I was told that when it gets bigger the flower will be even more impressive.

Tolumnia variegata (Sw.) Braem 1986, with flowers that appear to lack anthocyanin, these flowers are unlike any I have ever seen in the wild.

Photograph with flash

Photograph with natural light

Tolumnia variegata is one of the most common orchids in Puerto Rico.  It is often found in association with coffee plants, so its common name is "little angel of the coffee plantation".  Over the years I have seen, hundreds, maybe thousands of flowers of this species, in inflorescences of plants growing in the forest in Rio Abajo and in other types of habitats, from dry coastal scrub to moist karst forest.   The flowers usually have the same colors although they vary in size and number of flowers in the inflorescence.   A friend showed me this plant.  The flowers seem to lack anthocyanin, the pigment that produces purple and red color in the flowers.  My friend, who has seen even more Tolumnia flowers than me agrees that this plant is unique.  Sadly because it has been raining copiously in the last two weeks, only one of the flowers was in good condition.  The others were spotted or had sooty mold over them.  I am not sure what is the way to describe this variant of the species.  But it reminds me of an alba type flower.  There will be an effort to self the flowers so that seed might be collected.  Hopefully it will be successful so that the genetics of this variant might be preserved.

Typical Tolumnia variegata from the locality this plant was seen

Den. Ueang Pheung (Den. jenkinsii x Den. aggregatum) cultural notes

This hybrid is the product of the cross of two similar especies.  The species are so similar that some consider them the same species.  Dendrobium (aggregatum) lyndleyi produces long inflorescences of yellow flowers.  Dendrobium jenkinsii produces one or two flowered inflorescences of relatively large flowers that can rival the size of the cane that produced them.  The culture for both species is identical.   I decided to grow this plant in a wire basket instead of the usual tree fern trunk due to the fact that the warm and wet weather of my locality tends to speed the bacterial decay tree fern to such an extent that in a few years. if it is subjected to a steady stream of fertilizer, it becomes soft and begins to break down.  

The only differences I have noted between the hybrid and the species Dendrobium lydleyi is that the species needs a stronger, longer exposure to the sun to bloom well.  And that the species will sometimes bloom poorly if it is watered during the coldest driest part of the year.

Culture: 

Light: Bright light, a few hours of full sun in the morning, but the plants are protected from the midday sun.  The rest of the day it is shaded by trees. 

Temperature:  In my climate, the temperatures are the lowest in February when they go down to 14 C.  From June to October the high temperatures are 32 C.  The plant grows well in this range.

Watering: The plant is watered every three to two days, when the basket is approaching dryness.  It is only watered in the dry season, the rest of the year the local rain pattern gives it enough water to sustain growth.

Fertilizer:  It is given a 20-20-20 fertilizer but only if it is showing new growths.  When the plant starts a growth cycle, a small quantity of manure is put over the potting material.

Potting:  In a wire basket, in medium bark.  

Encyclia Renate Schmidt (Ency. Orchid Jungle x Enc. alata), one of the few plants that survived hurricane Maria in good shape.

It bloomed very well but for some reason the flowers are paler than in previous bloomings.

Catyclia Middleburg 'Maj' x Encyclia bractecens, its first blooming after the hurricane. I wish I had brought more of this cross, the color is very eye catching.

Cattleya nobilior Rchb.f 1883, grown near the town of Lares, Puerto Rico

The interior of the island of Puerto Rico is mountainous and because of this the temperatures are cooler than in the coast and environmental humidity is higher.  This produces favorable climatic conditions for the successful culture of many types of orchids.  This plant was grown near the town of Lares.

Sarcoglottis sceptrodes (Rchb. f.) Schltr. 1920,

Photographed in 2019 at the 70 annual Puerto Rico orchid society show in the Jardin Botanico de Rio Piedras.

Dendrobium discolor Lindley 1841, 'Karlo Javy' AM/AOS, this plant has a particularly nice color. It was awarded last March in Puerto Rico

Vanda Boschii (Vanda luzonica x Vanda tricolor)

Photographed near the town of Lares, in Puerto Rico.  The climate in the central mountainous part of the island of Puerto Rico is well suited for the cultivation of these orchids due to the high local humidity frequent rains and moderate temperatures.

Dendrobium purpureum Roxb. 1820

Epidendrum lacerum Lindley 1838, in the 2019, PR orchid society show.

Scuticaria salesiana Dressler 1968

Photographed at the March 2019 Puerto Rico orchid society show.

Cadetia taylori [F. Mueller]Schlechter 1912, considered a Dendrobium

This plant was photographed in March 2019, at the 70 annual show of the Puerto Rico orchid society.

Dendrophylax funalis [Sw.]Fawcett 1889, in the 70 Puerto Rico orchid society show in March 2019

It is rare to see leafless orchids displayed at local orchid shows.  This was a rare treat.  This plant needs high humidity environmental, as well as conscientious care to do well.   

Coryanthes macrantha [Hooker]Hooker 1831, an orchid with an amazingly complex structure.

The flowers of Coryanthes are some of the most complex and fascinating in the world.  The flowers have an inner pool, scent secreting surfaces and glands that secrete liquid to fill the pool.  A full description of the flowers is beyond the scope of this post but I recommend highly reading about the natural history of these amazing orchids.

Sacoila lanceolata (Aubl.) Garay 1982, for many year this plant eluded me, I found it at a roadside. I expected the flowers to be red, but the flowers I found were orange

Sacoila lanceolata is a terrestrial orchid that is widespread in the Antilles and tropical America.  In the photos I have seen of the species, the flowers are bright red.  But the population I saw in the west of the island of Puerto Rico, is pale orange.  Apparently there are also yellow ones, but I have not seen them only heard about them.

Spiranthes torta (Thunb.)Garay & H.R.Sweet, I photographed this little plant in a grassy area in the town of Lares, Puerto Rico

I saw this plant in a grassy area in the town of Moca.  The plants are small and easily missed among the grass.  I had to get into my belly to be able to take a close up of the flowers.   It is native of Puerto Rico and many other places.

Psychilis macconnelliae Sauleda (1988), a plant with a pure white lip that is not an alba form, from St. Croix Virgin Islands

One of the defining characteristics of Psy. macconnelliae is its large pink lip.  This particular plant is notable for having a pure white lip.   The plant is not an alba form since you can see it can produce pink pigments by the color of the column of the flower.  It is from the island of St. Croix, where there are large populations of this orchid growing near the seaside.  Generally, in Psychilis species one can see a degree of intraspecific variation in color of the flowers.  But the only other plants with a pure white lip I have seen are the alba forms of Psy, krugii.   For a view of the usual color of the flowers of Psy. macconelliae, use the following link:  https://ricardogupi.blogspot.com/2013/08/psychilis-macconnelliae-from-st-croix.html

Bletia patula Graham 1836 a flower without any trace of pigmentation

Alba forms of Bletia patula are very rare in Puerto Rico.  For many years no local plants that are pure white were seen.  There was a single clone, cultivated in Mayaguez that was awarded by the American Orchid Society.  This plant was photographed "in situ" in a swampy area in the northern karst region.  It is part of a very tiny population.  Most of the flowers were grievously damaged either by insects or some kind of fungal or bacteria spotting of the pure white floral segments.