This is a miniature species native to South East Asia and Malaysia, recorded in hot lowland forest near rivers. The flowers are large for the size of the plant (2cm across) and they do have a remarkable lip with a spur. The flowers flower successively from short spikes over a very long period which makes up for the flowers only lasting a couple of days. The leaves have a span of around 8cm.

The species has soft leaves suggesting it prefers shaded conditions and plants seem to do best when moss has naturally developed on the cork mount. We grow the plant mounted on cork where its flowers can be seen by turning the plant upside down.

With just 30 days to go until we host the British Orchid Show and Congress why not find out what is going on from our latest newsletter.

Fragrance is a big part of the attraction of many of our orchid species and this is one of our most notable fragrant orchids. Masdevallia picea has a really unpleasant smell likened by most who smell it to vomit although Ed who looks after the plant is very fond of the smell. Of course at school all the species with unpleasant smalls are rather popular, and great for introducing to visitors. The plant’s common name is the pitch black Masdevallia which is a bit peculiar as it is mostly dark red with a yellow centre and yellow tails. If you don’t have a stinking orchid in your collection I recommend this one.

The species is native to cool mountain forests in northern Peru where it is found at around 2700m altitude. We grow the plant with other Masdevallias in Cool Americas.

With just over a month to go to the British Orchid Show and Congress read all the latest news in our October newsletter with information for exhibitors, registrants and the public.

We can guarantee that there is always at least one gongora species in flower in the school greenhouse and this week we have our Gongora bufonias bursting into flower.

Gongora bufonia is a medium sized plant but one that produces impressive long flower spikes densely packed with flowers (45 flowers on this spike today). The flowers are smallish but give a great display. The species is found in Colombia and Brazil and with us flowers in the summer and autumn (the winter and spring in its natural habitat)

As with all our gongoras we grow plants in baskets and keep them well watered all year. We find it easier to manage baskets on a bench until flower spikes are produced and then we hang the plant up to flower.

A species that is in flower for much of the year is Gomesa flexuosa. This Brazillian species has recently been transferred from Oncidium to Gomesa along with many of the Brazillian oncidiums. It is native the the Mata Atlantica forests running along the Atlantic Coast of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina. It is found from as an epiphyte from coastal marshes up to 1200m and adapted to the seasonal dry period by growing a mass of roots. We grow the species mounted as it has something of a climbing habit with each pseudobulb growing above the previous one.

It is a reliable tough species and delivers real impact each summer with masses of small yellow flowers on branched flower spikes as shown in the photographs. We have had this species in our collection since the start and it is one we would never be without.

We have seen similar species in Brazil where the mass of yellow flowers in the canopy can be seen hundreds of metres across a valley.