Got Absolutely No IDea

[Silje]

I thought I'd share this with you. I was in the nursery No IDea was taken from today, and the parent plant is now in full bloom.

There's no doubt anymore. No IDea was not a dendrobium. He is definitely an Ansellia africana. And he is one of the the lighter types and smells like...soap.





Sorry about the bad photo quality...

[cbuchman]

Gorgeous! You are an inspiration!

[Silje]

Little No IDea seemed to appreciate getting a proper name and he's in a bit of a crazy root developing phase.

Still tucked into his plastic box den for the time being, but I see that I will have to get him into a taller box in the near future.



On the 19 September he was a tiny little dot on the cane. Now he's closing in on 10 cm and he's got fantastic roots. I have to say thy up to now he's been a really rewarding plant to grow.

The additional bonus is that my newly acquired mature Ansellia africana is still blossoming and developing new canes, all at the same time. I hope it's a peak into Ansel's future and that I can continue to keep them both happy.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Silje

Compared to the eastern side of the sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia is bone dry. It's got a lot of the same climatic conditions as Chile with huge deserts and limited rainfall. I've always considered it to be a unsuitable habitat for orchids, except along the few perennial rivers that we've got.

But...I now googled the generas you mentioned, and something fell into place.

Some years ago, during the rainy season, I came across this weird looking, bright yellow 'lily' when I was out checking on the cattle.

We've got lots of lilies that flower during the rainy season, but I'd never seen one quite like this before. It was before I begun collecting orchids as a hobby, and honestly, the thought of it being an orchid didn't even cross my mind.

I've been back to the place where I saw it several times, and I've been looking for the plant (something has been nagging me about it), but I haven't managed to find it again.

Yesterday I googled 'Eulophia', and I ended up looking at pictures of Eulophia speciosa

And there it was. My mystery lily! I'm going to patrol that area of the cattle camp every day this rainy season, and cross my fingers that it will flower this year.

I'm not sure I'll take it home with me, but at least I wanna mark the fence poles so that I know where I can find it again. And check on it now and then.

Again, Phillip!

Thank you!

Could it also be Disa aurata?

Disa aurata tend to grow along riverbanks.

IOSPE PHOTOS

[Silje]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Could it also be Disa aurata?

Disa aurata tend to grow along riverbanks.

IOSPE PHOTOS

Woooow, don't make me even more confused!

No, I've looked at pictures that my mother-in-law got of the flowers. She just happened to have pictures in her home-made birthday calendar and it's definitely an Eulophia speciosa.

I guess it's too dry for the disa where our farm is. But they are so beautiful! I wanted to buy a couple of flasks at some stage, but they sound challenging to grow. To put it mildly. At least from small seedling size.

[edub9]

Eulophia speciosa would be my guess also. I love the Eulophia, I have 3 different types and about 150 of Eulophia Graminea anyone want to trade something for the Graminea?

[Silje]

Originally Posted by edub9

Eulophia speciosa would be my guess also. I love the Eulophia, I have 3 different types and about 150 of Eulophia Graminea anyone want to trade something for the Graminea?

I would have been, but I guess shipping it across the Atlantic and borders will be difficult.

I ended up with an Eulophia petersii recently as well, and must admit I'm developing a soft spot for these orchids. Maybe because they grow in my area and are more suited to deal with the climate and actually can be outdoor plants that can take a bit of neglect in the form of both the odd over-watering, as well as the droughts during holidays and when I'm away for some days.