Stelis patinaria is another stelis species endemic to Ecuador and its cloud forests.

This species produces two opposite rows of flowers on each spike reminiscent of little bird’s beaks and the ginger red colour contrasts wonderfully with the glossy green leaves.

The mossy basket here shows the conditions we grow the plant in. We water its basket daily and grow the plant cool and shady in our Cool Americas section. Since we have had the plant it has steadily grown larger and we are hoping that it will reward us with a mass flowering. At the moment it seems happy to share a few spikes at a time over a long period with most of the flowering in the winter.