Unidentified Epidendrum - Orchid Board

Tango · #1 07-01-2023, 12:46 PM

Hi,
I got this plant years ago tagged as Epidendrum melanoporphyraeum, which evidently it is not. Slender, wiry inflorescence and very tiny flowers (5mm). Does somebody know this plant?

Thanks,
Tango

Roberta · #2 07-01-2023, 08:40 PM

Do you have photos of the whole plant? And maybe some flower photos from the front of a fully-opened flower? don't know what it is, don't recognize the flowers. but maybe more views of the plant and the flowers might help,

Tango · #3 07-02-2023, 07:21 AM

Hi Roberta,

Thank you for your answer .

Yes, sorry, I uploaded only a couple of bad photos, but after 4 years I was really impatient to know what this plant was. Yesterday the flower was not fully opened, as I visited the plant today to water it a bit and it turned out to be a Barkeria! But an evergreen one. Does not shed a single leaf in winter.

Any idea about the species?
Thank you,
Tango

Roberta · #4 07-02-2023, 11:55 AM

I didn't know that there ARE evergreen Barkerias! It's not a large genus, try looking through IOSPE It's going to be one of the warm-growing tropical Barkerias, I think, since those that experience "seasons" are deciduous.

---------- Post added at 08:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:29 AM ----------

I looked at some of the photos on IOSPE... I wonder if it is Bark. whartoniana. Still puzzled by the evergreen characteristic, but maybe these warm-growing Barkeris do that if they stay warm and damp. I only grow the species that are cold-tolerant, they definitely experience "winter" and respond accordingly so I don't have a point of reference.

Tango · #5 07-02-2023, 12:45 PM

Oh thanks, at IOSPE I came across B. dorotheae, that seems plausible. Well I didn't know either that some Barkerias could be evergreen. The smallest cane is 3 years old and still keeps its leaves! This plant never gets a dry rest and in 4 years did not shed its leaves. Close to it I have a Barkeria scandens, a lazy guy that sleeps 6 or 7 months a year.
Thanks!
Tango

---------- Post added at 04:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:37 PM ----------

I don't know, B. whartoniana seems to have a more or less flat labellum and my plant's one is heavily folded. But it's a first bloom of a tiny plant, so maybe a next inflorescence may be more revealing

---------- Post added at 04:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:41 PM ----------

I'm very happy about this plant. It was rescued from the waste bin of a large collection by a friend of mine, then he gave it to me because it was dying, and after three changes of home in 4 years it has managed to live on. Tough little boy 💪

Roberta · #6 07-02-2023, 01:18 PM

Great save! I do love Barkerias. Mine get cold and lose leaves - and come back from the "dead" every year. I have learned the hard way to not cut the spent inflorescence , when truly dead it is brittle and can be snapped off with fingers, but below that point, still very much alive. (I have had the "Oh sh****t reaction when cutting what looked very dead and realizing that what I just destroyed was green. I don't do that any more...) Yours looks so healthy!

Tango · #7 07-09-2023, 06:19 AM

Hi Roberta,
And here is the almost completely developed inflorescence!
Thank you for your help and comments. By the way, I saw the photos of your beautiful plants, looks like an orchid paradise.
Best,
Tango.

Roberta · #8 07-09-2023, 11:06 AM

Thanks! Glad that you enjoyed my back yard! That's a really beautiful Barkeria, whichever ono it is. Is that a Den bensoniae behind it? Waiting for mine, just buds so far, blooming very late this year.

Tango · #9 07-13-2023, 06:38 PM

Hehe what an eye! Yes a tiny Dendrobium bensoniae, a survivor of bad times now enjoying a break.
Glad to speak with you Roberta.
Tango.

Roberta · #10 07-13-2023, 07:04 PM

Thanks! I love Den. bensoniae. Fragrance is wonderful. With tender loving care, it won't stay tiny long! Of my deciduous Dendrobiums, that is the only one that I do dry out in winter - it isn't shy about losing leaves, and the canes stay firm all winter, it is mounted (Other deciduous Dens I do continue to water, since my climate is so dry, the cold seems to be a sufficient trigger for blooming) This one has rewarded me in spite of (or because of) the abuse... turning into a very substantial plant.