Begonia decandra Pav. ex A.DC. in El Yunque National Forest

 This Begonia is endemic of Puerto Rico.  It can be seen in roadsides and places where the forest canopy borders and open sunny area. 

Dendrobium stratiotes Rchb. f. 1886

 

In my experience, this Dendrobium does well and its easy to grow in Puerto Rico.  Once the canes have reached mature size, they will produce long lasting flowers.  The canes can vary in size depending on the genetics of the plant and the care it receives.   Sadly, I lost it because I became too complacent about its care.  The thing is, once the cane reaches the side of the pot, its a must to repot it taking care to damage the roots as little as possible.   Neglecting repotting can cause the loss of the plant once the roots that are in the pot die. 

Cattleya Jairak Cosmos

 

Rhynchodendrum Cabalgata en Verde x Brassavola cucullata

 This hybrid is a cross of Rhynchodendrum Cabalgata en Verde (Epidendrum ciliare x Rhyncholaelia digbyana) and Brassavola cucullata.  It has a fimbriate lip that shows mainly the influence of Epi. ciliare and B. cucullata.  

Neobenthamia gracilis culture

I lost many orchids in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.   Most of them were in pots.  So, I decided to plant most of my orchids in baskets to avoid a repeat of that disaster.  Not all plants do well in baskets.   One plant that thrives in a pot is Neobenthamia gracilis.  I decided to experiment how it would do in a basket.   Neobenthamia defies our concept of what an orchid should look like.  A well grown plant looks like an untidy patch of grass.  

I planted a few keikis in a custom-made basket and filled the basket with pieces of coconut husk and a layer of leaf litter.   The keikis grew slowly.   The plant grew and produced new canes at a slow pace.  It eventually produced adult canes that bloomed.  The inflorescences are smaller than those of plants that I had in the past potted in a mix of bark and leaf litter.   The keikis took five years to reach blooming size.   I think that the plant would have taken less time if I had given the basket a top dressing of organic fertilizer.   Although the plant has not done as well as I would have liked, I will keep it in the basket, as a back up in case I lose the other plants.

The root system in the basket is large and its in an excellent condition.  When the plant starts producing keikis I will plant them in pots.  I will keep the mother plant in the basket, just in case.  

 

Dendrobium devonianum Paxton 1840

 I brought this Dendrobium last year.  One of the few orchids I have brought after hurricane Maria.   This plant has been delicate and lost two canes to rot during the rainy season.   However the youngest cane survived.  The cane is just a fraction of the size of the older ones it had when it arrived, but to my surprise it produced flowers.  Not many but I don't complain.   I have read Dendrobium devonianum is quite variable but I was puzzled when the flowers started opening.  To me it seems as if someone grafted the huge lip of Den, primulinum of a devonianum flower.  I have never before seen a Den, devonianum with such huge yellow dot and without purple on the distal tip of the lip.   Hopefully, next year the plant will be larger and stronger and will produce even more of this beautiful flowers.   The flowers are strongly fragrant in the afternoon.

Microchilus species, in the forest understory, Guilarte Peak, Puerto Rico

While walking on the trail that leads to the top of the Guilarte peak, I found a some plants of this species blooming.  I found several plants to only two still had flowers as its blooming season in this locality is ending.

Phalaenopsis stuartiana Rchb.f. 1881

Seen in the 2017 Puerto Rico orchid society show.

Cattleya x guatemalensis Moore 1861, now Guarianthe x guatemalensis

Dendrobium Silver King

Bulbophyllum sumatranum flowers, produced by the same mass of growths two weeks appart in March.

A terrestrial orchid, very difficult to ID, even the genus eludes me. From Ecuador

This may be a Sigmatostalix, the flowers are tiny and appear sequentially on a branched inflorescence

Photographed in a garden in Ecuador.  

Vanda Edwin's White Romance (Vanda luzonica x Vanda Nakornsawan Belle)

Brassolaelia Morning Glory

A nice plant that grows very well in the hot climate of coastal Puerto Rico.  The flowers are variable in the extent of color and the venation from clone to clone.

Dendrobium oligophyllum Gagnep.1950, a miniature

Encyclia cordigera [HBK] Dressler 1964, a particularly fine flower

The flower of this plant is among the largest I have seen in a cordigera orchid.  The pseudobulbs are large and husky.  The plant is the property of a friend, he has cultivated it to perfection.  The plant was brought on a local vendor, but appears to be the product of a cross of superior plants.

Laeliocattleya White Spark 'Panda' a Cattleya hybrid that deviates from the norm.

An unusually shaped Cattleya tribe hybrid.  In Cattleya a flat presentation of petals and sepals is considered the most desirable configuration.  This plant is certainly not like that.  However the bright color and the curled frilly petals are very eye catching.  I like it.

Ponthieva ventricosa (Griseb.) Fawc. & Rendle, a few close ups of the flowers of this Caribbean endemic

The group of plants of this species that grows near my house suffered greatly during the drought of 2015.  This year has been much wetter which has allowed he clump to recuperate somewhat.  However it is still smaller than when I first found it due to the stress it underwent during the long dry spells of last year.  It only has a fraction of the inflorescences that it used to produce.

Laelia anceps var. veitchiana

This plant is cultivated close to the coast in the town of Isabela, in the north coast of the Island of Puerto Rico.  It is grown in a shadehouse near the top of a hill, with plenty of air movement and humidity.