Saw this on reddit.

[mook1178]

Nature is absolutely incredible. Orchids growing on the underside of a leaf.

Tiny South American orchid Phymantidium delicatulum : orchids

[Ray]

Very cool, but not a particularly smart ploy by the plants, as they'll drop to the ground with the leaves - although they must have been there a while to grow to blooming size.

[mook1178]

Reading in the comments, seems like they usually grow on twigs and stems, but have a very short life span.

[DirtyCoconuts]

I saw that too. Like a disposable version of tolumnia lol


Super cool. I also think that those leaves are very long lasting

[neophyte]

according to the comments, these plants tend to grow on the outer edges of trees (twigs, stems, etc.) and reproduce extremely quickly in nature, which accounts for the fact that they're already blooming before the leaves could drop. in cultivation, apparently, they have a much longer lifespan.

it would be really cool if they could do tests on these... i wonder if maybe their roots could detect when the plant is about to drop its leaves (abscisic acid/ethylene) and bloom right before to ensure maximum plant size (and flower count) during blooming.

[DirtyCoconuts]

very popssible Neo, i also think that is a non-dropping leaf so it can stay on the plant for longer than a single season