Encyclia alata

[smweaver]

With around fifty blooms on a spike that's more than a meter tall, this one's not easy to photograph. Bringing a few flowers into focus means that you lose focus on dozens of others. So I tried to get as many in the frame as possible (which entailed lopping off--with the lens--a couple of the lower side branches).

Easy to grow and bloom species if you have the space (the plant is big even when it's not in bloom), this one appreciates year-round warmth. The ants are quite fond of it too--and since they're getting rather agitated since I brought it inside for the photo session, it's now going back on the front porch.