Chytroglossa aurata, a mini orchid

[Rosim_in_BR]

Chytroglossa is a genus of the Oncidinae Tribe composed of four species (the last was discovered in 1992) that live in the humid forests of Serra do Mar, a mountain chain in the southeast coast of Brazil. All of them are tiny plants. For an idea, the plant in the photo is mounted on a 4.5” tree fern stick. It needs to be kept moist otherwise it will quickly shrivel. The green and yellow make the flower very attractive to the eyes! I also grow a second species, similar to this, named Chytroglossa marileone, which had two spikes blasted by a sudden cold wave that hit my region last month. What a shame!