Winter doldrums - How about some orchid foliage
Jan 11, 2016 2:14:19 GMT -5
meizzwang, calen, and 5 more like this
Post by almightydolla on Jan 11, 2016 2:14:19 GMT -5
Winter is a rough time. With only Sarr seedlings to look at and a sunny frosty day outside, I took some photos around the greenhouse today. Hidden within all the different orchids I grow, are species known not for their flower, but for their foliage. Enjoy
First, lets start with the well known Paphliopedilum genus. While more than half of the species have mottled foliage, I find Paphliopedilum tonsum has some of the most striking. Here's several clones grown from wild collected seed:
I'm sure you've seen all the Phalaenopsis orchids so commonly available. But did you know there are multiple species in the genus with fantastically pattered leaves? I grow several clones of Phalaenopsis celebensis, stuartiana, schilleriana and philippinensis, as well as primary crosses between them
And patterns aren't all Phalaenopsis has to offer, both Phalaenopsis sanderiana and chibae can impart red into leaves like this Phalaenopsis deliciosa x chibae cross
Most of the following plants are complete outliers in their genus
Nageliella purpurea
Lepanthes rhodophylla has amazing red leaves that turn deeper red as the leaf ages
Psychopsis has papilio, versteegiana, krameriana, and sanderae, all of which have similar patters
Maxillaria has two fascinating species reichenheimiana and pseudoreichenheimiana, the main difference being that you can wipe off the spots of pseudopseudoreichenheimiana by just rubbing on the leaves!
Bulbophyllum dayanum is interesting in that the bulbs and undersides of the leaves are purple, but the rest of the plant is green
Bulbophyllum is more known for their flowers, but Bulbophyllum reticulatum has some amazing foliage
Dresslerella is known for hairy leaves, and Dresslerella caesariata has shoe shaped flowers as well
Pleurothallis is a massive orchid Genus full of all sort of oddities. Pleurothallis penelops has some crazy strange hanging leaves
Pleurothallis pterophora has leaves that start off with spots all over the leaves that eventually fade as the leaf matures
And last but not least (and one my favorites) Pleurothallis crinita and dodsonii have tiny speckled leaves