Yesterday I mentioned that this little beauty won 2nd Pleurothallis here at the Malvern Show.

Pleurothallis sarracenia is a small growing species from the Mata Atlantica, Brazil with 1cm long leaves that hug the bark it grows on, and unusual dark purple flowers with just a tiny opening for the pollinating ant to enter the flower.

The species enjoys conditions in our Cool Americas section providing it grows high up and so keeps a little dryer than some of our Pleurothallis species.

We haven’t yet identified what the ants find attractive about the flower and have never seen a British ant visiting flowers so perhaps the reward is specific to the local Brazilian ants.