This is not a Trichosalpinx. It
looks like it may be Unguella lepidota (used
to be Pleurothallis lepidota) but
I cannot be sure since I can’t see the floral parts. The literature
says that this species comes from Panama
and Costa Rica.
Lynn O
From:
pleurothallid-l-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:pleurothallid-l-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Brian O'Brien
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2005 8:43
PM
To: pleurothallid-l@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [pleurothallid-l]
introduction and pleurothallid identificationrequest
To All,
I recently joined both this list and the Pleurothalld
Alliance, and have long been interested in species orchids, including those
that might be considered by some to be 'insignificant'. I could, for
instance, imagine myself concentrating only on Appendicula or Agrostophyllum -
though there are too many 'botanicals' in the world to make that a realistic
(or desirable...) goal. And I like beautiful, larger flowers
a great deal, as well. I currently grow humidity-dependent orchids in an
Orchidarium, modified with timers for both for the fan and for an external
humidifier (the humidifier operates through a hole cut in the side of the case)
to keep the humidity sufficiently high, especially in the very dry indoor
winters here (Minnesota).
I am also the designer of the Wardian case described at http://www.orchidlady.com/wardian1.html.
(The case worked just fine for a long time, but I took it down after a tornado
hit here, and the space needed to be converted. I'm considering
construction of a new, improved one, however, to supplement the
Orchidarium - my orchid collection is growing in size, even though I try
to limit myself to small species...).
Given my growing conditions (unavoidably hot in the winter - a
centrally heated building in a cold climate; a Wardian case is an absolute
necessity, and even that requires a lot of maintenance), I would like to know
of particularly heat-and/or-drought-tolerant pleurothallids.
There are P. tribuloides and P. schiedei plants in the college
greenhouse right now, where the humidity is more or less maintained, but they
haven't flowered for a long time (though they're vegetatively robust). Do
those need to be chilled at a particular time?
With regard to my specific request from members of this list, I
bought a pleurothallid from Belize
from a nursery in Florida
a couple of years ago. I took it to a meeting of the Orchid Society of
Minnesota a couple of months ago, and asked Kathy
Creger about its identity - Kathy thinks that it is a
Trichosalpinx, which is a welcome identification. I sent a photo of this
plant in flower to the OGD a couple of years ago - it generated some comments
from people who thought that it was interesting, but brought no identification
as to species. It's a fascinating plant, in that it has thick, heavy,
highly succulent leaves that shrink when it's about to flower, which it does
several times a year. The leaves then enlarge again - they are obviously
reservoirs. It flowers multiple times on one individual leaf, and the
individual leaves are long-lived. I'll paste in a photo after this
message. The plant is in a 3 1/2" or 4" pot (I'm at home right
now, and don't have the exact pot size).
I had thought, at the time that I bought this plant, that perhaps
I shouldn't buy it, due to its possible difficulty - but it has become one of
my favorite plants, among both orchids and xerophytes (and aroids, gesneriads,
etc....).
I would greatly appreciate any insight into the specific identity
of this plant (or species to which it might be related) that anyone on this
list can provide.
As a further bit of introduction with regard to my orchid and
other plant interests, I'm particularly interested in
African/Madagascan/other-Indian-Ocean-Island orchids (and in orchids from other
regions...). I am also a xerophyte person (I have wonderful east-facing
windows in the labs where I work - those are populated with plants that are
designed to cope, in particular, with the conditions of a hot, dry
winter). On the other hand, some winter growers are also included.
This might, to a large extent, be the wrong forum for such a question
- but I'll ask again anyway. I would like to have advice on orchids
that will tolerate (or even prefer) drought and high temperatures during the
winter, should any of you know of such plants (are there any xero-pleurothallids?), so that I can supplement
my collection of other xerophytes with such orchids. I have some
Madagascan Oeceoclades that fill the bill, but would like to have others.
Right now, I have some Encyclias and a couple of Angraecums that I think will
be ok (some have already come through one winter, in a north, dry window
unscathed). I'm planning to try Ansellia africana, and have recently
acquired Jumellea rigida, Angraecum elephantinum, and Angraecum sororium to
try. I'm a bit concerned about the A. sororium, though, and might have to
move it into a better environment if it doesn't shut down for the winter.
Thanks,
Brian
Hi, things have been WAY too quiet on this
list for WAY too long. I haven’t been a member for long, but I have
learned quite a bit from various people on the list. Our local orchid
society has been trying to find people to do talks, and I volunteered. I
know, it is all my fault. As I tried to figure out what to talk about, I
started thinking about what I know the most about, and that is
pleurothallids. Living in Florida,
I have to be careful of what pleurothallids I try to grow. I’m
going to talk to them about how you decide whether or not an orchid is
appropriate for you or not. I also want to go over the genera with an
emphasis on which pleuros are warmth tolerant. I have a handful, but not
enough to fill up a talk. Does anyone here know of any warmth-tolerant
pleurothallids that they would recommend to a bunch of us here in Tallahassee, FL?
Also, do you know of where I can snag some pictures of them? Our group
has a lot of relatively new members, and pictures are very important to them.
Thanks a lot!
Linda
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--
Brian A. O'Brien, Department of Chemistry, Gustavus Adolphus
College
800 West College Avenue,
Saint Peter, Minnesota
56082 U.S.A.
e-mail bobrien@gustavus.edu or bobrien@gac.edu
tel. (507)933-7310 fax (507)933-7041 http://www.gustavus.edu/~bobrien
