Loefgrenianthus blanche-amesiae

[Roberta]

This is a charming little twig epiphyte. (Yes, it's in the Cattleya tribe) The flower is about 2 cm (1/2 inch), leaves are about the same size. The name is bigger than the plant. It grows shady and damp, outdoors (lows to the mid-30's F) The Baker culture sheet in Orchidwiz gives the temperature range of its habitat as 25-93 deg F. So it's a lot tougher than it looks.

[rbarata]

So it's a lot tougher than it looks.

And with a good adaptation procedure, it will handle more than that, probably.
Beautiful flower, Roberta!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by rbarata

And with a good adaptation procedure, it will handle more than that, probably.
Beautiful flower, Roberta!

Thanks! I think that shady and damp is important - in its habitat in Brazil, heat comes with humidity. I have less humidity, but when the weather is hot, these little guys get the misters 2 or even 3 times a day in addition to their morning soaking.

[SaraJean]

Oh my goodness! I love it! Sounds like a fairly sturdy little thing with that temp range. Might have to go on the wishlist...

[isurus79]

Wow, never heard of this one! Very cool! Where did you get it?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Wow, never heard of this one! Very cool! Where did you get it?

Andy's Orchids. I was wandering around his cool shade house when I spotted it (not in bloom)... and I do love little orchids with big names - it was a new genus for me. It was growing in an area that has conditions enough like my own that I was confident that I could be successful with it. So far so good.

[neophyte]

very small and very cute! i love it!

[SouthPark]

I really like that yellow structure on the front! It's like a slipper too.

[PaphMadMan]

New one for me, and that doesn't happen very often in the Catt alliance. Thanks for posting. A temp tolerant mini-mini Catt relative will be worth looking for.

My first thought seeing it was Leptotes, and that was the first classification in 1918 until Loefgrenianthus came along in 1927.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by PaphMadMan

New one for me, and that doesn't happen very often in the Catt alliance. Thanks for posting. A temp tolerant mini-mini Catt relative will be worth looking for.

My first thought seeing it was Leptotes, and that was the first classification in 1918 until Loefgrenianthus came along in 1927.

Thanks for that tidbit... the flower does have a bit of the Leptotes shape (though the lip is really different) Leptotes has those terete, succulent leaves so clearly is adapted to a very bright area that may have dry periods. Leaves on this one are flat (though stiff) and there's no pseudobulb - the stems actually look more like those of a Pleurothallid such as Lepanthes, so the climate must be really wet all year for it to survive.