Another rainy morning in Radstock today, and of course it is wet season in the greenhouse as well, reflecting the seasonal summer rains experienced by most tropical habitats. Some plants enjoy life really wet and restrepias certainly enjoy a wet summer. Our restrepias are looking magnificent at the moment and Restrepia contorta stands out with a heavy flower count for the size of plants.

This species is native to South America from Venezuela to Peru growing in cloud forests from 1300 to 3200m altitude.

It produces wider but shorter flowers than many restrepia species and like many species is very variable in colours and spots.

This plant seems particularly keen on growing in a small basket where it is kept damp throughout the year and over time can form a neat ball covered in flowers. As you can see from the photo this clone is unusual in that it produces two flowers at a time from each leaf and the paired flowers look particularly striking.