This species is a July regular in the greenhouse. Like its close relative Myrmecophyila tibicinis, Myrmecophila humboldtii has long spikes (this one is 1.2m long) with large flowers towards the top that open sequentially. The flowers have a sweet fragrance and sugary liquid around the buds presumably to feed the ants with which the plant […]

. We happily describe Maxillaria preastans as our moist reliable maxillaria. The species from Mexico and Central America is found between 1500 and 2000m altitude in humid evergreen forest and we find that it grows well both cool in Cool Americas (min 12C) and warm in Warm Americas (min 15C) as long as it is […]

Summer is the time when Masdevallia pyxis can be relied upon to be in flower. This is a small sized Masdevallia native to Peru that grows in cool forest around 2300m altitude where it grows as an epiphyte of lithophyte. It has thick rounded leaves and the flowers are produced in profusion on stems much […]

Our orchid project students were the stars earlier in the week working with Dr David Roberts from Kent University, but today it this South American orchid species that is the star. Odontoglossum multistellare certainly lives up to its name and every summer produces branched spikes of attractive, star shaped, flowers, and a small plant produces […]

  We have another Brazilian Stelis species to follow Stelis thermophylla. A miniature species with a big impact. The plant shown is in a 10cm basket and leaves up to 5cm. the flower spikes are 10cm long with 20 flowers each. Stelis itatiayae is native to the forests that follow the East Coast of Brazil […]