Paphiopedilum lowii (Lindl.) Pfitzer 1895

I has been my experience that this species of tropical ladyslipper grows very well and blooms reliably in the coastal lowands of Puerto Rico.  I wonder why they are not more popular.  Perhaps the reason is that they are not often offered for sale and can be expensive when brought as adult plants.  This one was for sale in the 2016 Puerto Rico Orchid Society show in the Jardin Botanico de Rio Piedras.

Bulbophyllum maximum (Lindl.) Rchb. f. 1861, was ID in the exhibit as Bulb. oxypetalum

I saw this orchid in the 2016 Puerto Rico orchid society show in the Rio Piedras Botanical Garden.  This plant has a strange otherworldly look with its large flattened inflorescences on the sides of which the tiny flowers are produced.  Given that the flowers were pretty much invisible from a distance, I have to give thanks to the PR Orchid Society which gave me permission to enter the exhibit to give a close up to the tiny flowers.  The plant body of this orchid is hardly distinct from many other Bulbophyllum species, but the inflorescences are outstandingly weird looking in a genus where weird infloresences are common.   The plant is mounted on a tree fern plaque and is doing well.  The massive inflorescences dwarf the plant body and, to the uninitiated, look utterly unorchid like.