Amongst our fragrant orchids flowering this week is this warm growing species from Central America. It is locally called the coconut orchid as it produces a powerful fragrance which is unmistakably coconut. We have seen the species in the wild in Guatemala growing in dryish lowland forest. We found it mostly on the trunks of trees […]

The school greenhouse has around 800 orchid species and around 40 of them are African Orchids. We have had the pleasure of coming across several Polystachya species during our expeditions to Rwanda and South Africa. Polystachya bella clearly shows the characteristic non-resupinate (upside down) flowers of the genus and produces long sprays of hairy golden […]

A new species for 365 days is this interesting species with long sprays of smallish flowers. Dendrochilum oxylobum is a species endemic to Borneo where it has been recorded from Kalimantan, Sarawak and Sabah. In Sarawak it has been recorded from Kuching district and this makes the species significant to us as we are working with […]

One of our favourite dendrobiums is this small growing but spectacular species from Laos, Vietnam and Southern China. Dendrobium loddigesii is semi deciduous growing 10cm pseudobulbs in the summer which then drop some of their leaves in the winter. Flowers appear from last year’s bulbs in late spring. We find that this species needs a distinct […]

We have a diversity of Masdevallias flowering this week One of our most robust and reliable Masdevallias is this species from Ecuador. The large flowers are produced on short stems and are remarkable for the purple ‘hairs’ on the lip which give the species its name meaning the burred Masdevallia. The species is found at around […]