This wonderful species with crystalline flowers and smart dark leaves is a welcome sight on a wet winters morning. This is a warm growing species from Central America found from Nicaragua to Panama and the nearby regions of Colombia that flowers repeatedly during the darkest months of the year.

The short lived but very attractive and fragrant flowers are produced from the base of newly matured bulbs and in common with most Trichopilia species the lip is very large compared to the other petals and sepals. When flowering well we have had more than ten flowers out at once which gives a great show.

We used to find the species challenging to grow without black spotting on the leaves but we are convinced that this was due to calcium deficiency and heat stress. We tackle these issues with added calcium in the watering and growing the plant shaded and damp at all times, and this results in the glossy dark green bulbs and leaves seen here.