Maxillaria sanguinea Rolfe 1895

I saw this orchid at the 2016 show of the Puerto Rico Orchid society.  This plant produced a clump of many growths all growing close together.   It is commonly seen and shows and occasionally one sees a specimen plant.  The flowers are smaller than those of its relative Maxillaria tenuifolia.

Myrmetonia ( Schombonia ) Summertime (Myrmecophila tibicinis x Broughtonia sanguinea)

I saw this orchid at the 2016 Puerto Rico Orchid Society show.  The plant is large, the flowers are produced at the end of long inflorescences that however are not as long as those of the Myr. tibicinis parent.  

Psytonia Caribbean Jewels 'E Orchids Little Ruby' AM/AOS, a rare hybrid of Psychilis macconnelliae and Broughtonia sanguinea

This interesting plant is an hybrid of Psychilis macconnelliae (which was the seed parent) and Broughtonia sanguinea (which was the pollen parent).  It was registered in 2004 by J. R. Fernandez..  We can see that the influence of the Psychilis parent was overwhelming, you would have a hard time guessing which was the other parent from looking at this plant.  The color is highly reminiscent of Psychilis kraenzlinii, however the flower size and shape clearly distinguishes it from that species.  The white spot on the lip makes me suspect that the Puerto Rican plant of macconnelliae was used on this hybrid rather than a plant from St. Croix.  Hybrids with Psychilis are uncommon, in the ones that I have seen, the Psychilis influence is very dominant.

This hybrid was exhibited by Edwin Alberto Perez.  I want to thank Irma Saldana because she helped me find the information and parentage of this hybrid as registed on the Royal Horticultural Society.

Lepanthes caritensis a rare Puerto Rican endemic orchid

Lepanthes caritensis

This orchid is rarely seen and even less often photographed.   Found only in particular mountains of the east of Puerto Rico this orchid is quite tiny and often overlook.  At one time they were thought to ocurr in a very restricted area where only 196 individuals were known to ocurr.  Amazingly half of the plants of the species were found in a single tree!  But it now appears to have a wider distribution than was realized.  I found a few plants but sadly after hurricane Earl thinned the canopy in the area where they grew they dissapeared.   Hopefully one day I will find more plants to photograph.  This plant is not in circulation in the orchid growing circles, I know of just a single plant in captivity.  The photo I saw of the plant is apparently being cared by a particularly skilled orchidist as shows it thriving under cultivation.  However I ask you not to remove these plants from the wild as keeping them healthy and alive away from their natural habitat is not and endeavour for the casual orchidist and most likely will result in the death of the plant.