Habenaria medusa (aka Habenaria myriotricha).
They're terrestrial orchids.
They come from Thailand through Indonesia.
They grow from potato-like tuberoids that form from roots. As a result of this growth habit, from a horticultural standpoint, they must be handled with care due to them being softer than a tuberoid that is formed from stems and are therefore very susceptible to damage, which will ultimately result in increasing the probability of having the lesion, bruise, or cut lead to infection should they be mishandled. The tuberoids can dehydrate easily if they are not properly tended to during dormancy. The tuberoids are extremely susceptible to rot if they are over watered. The relatively soft potato-like tuberoids are also the favorite food of a host of insects such as fungus gnats (both adults and larvae - of which the larvae are much more destructive), and other insects - including ants.
If you mistreat the plant too often when it is in growing season, the subsequent tuberoids will have no trouble getting smaller and smaller over time, until it gives up and dies.
They have a distinct growing season from spring through summer.
They bloom during fall.
They go completely deciduous and dormant during winter.
They despise being disturbed (as in taking them out of the pot) when they have developed roots. There is a high probability that they will die as a result of being disturbed during active growth. If you got to do any repotting, it should be done during dormancy.
Damage too many roots and the probability of them growing a strong new tuberoid is rather slim.
According to my personal experience with a few species in the genus Habenaria, in general, my understanding is that each shoot does not produce a lot of roots.
Each tuberoid produces only one shoot at it's apex - that's it.
During dormancy there is only one dormant "eye" positioned at the apex of the dormant tuberoid. Rot that out, and it's gone. To my knowledge there are no other dormant "eyes" on the tuberoid that will take the place of the rotten dormant "eye" at the apex.
According to my observations of a few plants in the genus Habenaria, they only produce roots from the base of the shoot, not from the tuberoid itself.
Bright shade to moderate indirect sun.
Intermediate to warm (60 F - 95 F).
Do not store dormant tubers in the fridge - they will die! This is a tropical species.
Moderate to high humidity (50% - 80%)
This particular species appear to come from soils with loose sand and dry scrub.
In my opinion, this is not the best terrestrial orchid species to start with. There are so many more colorful and interesting species to start off growing first.
If you've never grown any terrestrial orchids before, try growing Bletilla spp. or Bletia spp, maybe even Spathoglottis spp first.
__________________
Philip
Last edited by King_of_orchid_growing:); 03-22-2011 at 04:10 AM..
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