Thunia species are native to the Himalayas where they grow long pseudobulbs during the monsoon and then drop their leaves once the dry season starts. We have seen Thunia alba growing on the side of mossy boulders in shade near the road from Kalimpong (West Bengal)  to Gangtok (Sikkim) at around 500m altitude where they will experience […]

It is all hands on deck this week as we get ready for the orchid Festival on Saturday. The greenhouses are nearly ready for visitors, the lab is will be full of activities, the new Mendip building will be filled with displays, wood carvers and brilliant lunches and refreshments – we can’t wait. Do come […]

This Brazillian species has recently been transferred from Oncidium to Gomesa along with many of the Brazillian oncidiums. It is native the the Mata Atlantica forests running along the Atlantic Coast of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina. It is found from as an epiphyte from coastal marshes up to 1200m and adapted to the seasonal dry […]

This unusual Maxillaria species has flowers with long curling petals and a strong pleasant fragrance. The flowers are produced in profusion from last year’s pseudobulb each on individual stems. Looking at photos online this is a variable species which reflects its wide range across South America (Eastern Brazil to Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador) where it […]

This is a small growing species but not the neatest. The 2cm equitant growths (the leaves fold around the stem so that they overlap the one opposite and above in a fan shape) produce vegetative shoots that produce another growth a few cm above the original. The end result is a scrambling plant that then […]