Pleurothallis grobyii?

[dlewan]

Once upon a time I had a plant labelled Pleurothallis grobyii. It was a great plant. It thrived in my intermediate - warm temperatures. It was mounted, but was quite happy being ignored on occasion. Bloomed like mad with small, almost spherical, yellow blooms on 2-3cm inflorescences. (I'm not convinced that I remember the shape correctly.) The leaves were small, perhaps 2 would fit on your pinky nail, firm and "puffy" at possibly 2mm thick.

I'd like to get it back into my collection but all the Pleuro. grobyii that I find have small, grass-like leaves, almost Masdevallia-like. The flowers also don't look like I remember them. Small and yellow, yes, but somewhat like a bird's head.

I'm willing to believe that the original plant was misidentified. Pleurothallis, after all, has its vague edges.

(1) What might that original plant have been?
(2) Are the plants I see advertised as Pleurothallis grobyii as nicely tolerant as my original plant?
(3) Is Specklinia grobyii an alias?

Thanks.

[Roberta]

First, Welcome!

(check for Pleurothallis (Specklinia) grobyi ... with one "i")
(1) no clue... but was probably mis-identified. Flower shape sounds a lot like Scaphosepalum verrucosum, another miniature "blooming fool" but the leaves of that one aren't succulent so maybe not.
(2) Rather bulletproof plant. It's actually a "cluster" of closely related species that are pretty much indistinguishable, that grow in a huge range from southern Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean islands, to Peru and Brazil at a range of elevations.
(3) Specklinia grobyi is the current "accepted" name ... genus got changed, I'm not changing my tags...

[dlewan]

Thanks for the response.

(1) I continue to look.
(2) Hmm, a new plant to consider. The arrangement of the flowers on the inflorescence is much more spaced, very much like the pictures of [i]P.grobyi[/] that I've found. (Thanks for the spelling correction!)
(3) OK. I'll use Specklinia from now on.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by dlewan

Thanks for the response.

(1) I continue to look.
(2) Hmm, a new plant to consider. The arrangement of the flowers on the inflorescence is much more spaced, very much like the pictures of [i]P.grobyi[/] that I've found. (Thanks for the spelling correction!)
(3) OK. I'll use Specklinia from now on.

When you are searching, either use both genera, or just use the species... Just because it has been reclassified doesn't mean that the original genus isn't still in wide use...

Another thought when you're trying to look for photos of what you remember... The succulent Pleurothallis species have largely been reclassified Acianthera, so you might look for that Genus in IOSPE or OrchidRoots or other sources.

[Roberta]

Here's another possibility... Pleurothallis leptotifolia. Saw this on the Tarzane Group website. Succlulent leaves, yellow flowers but not globular. PLEUROTHALLIS LEPTOTIFOLIA MINIATURE ORCHID MOUNTED

[dlewan]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Here's another possibility... Pleurothallis leptotifolia. Saw this on the Tarzane Group website. Succlulent leaves, yellow flowers but not globular. PLEUROTHALLIS LEPTOTIFOLIA MINIATURE ORCHID MOUNTED

Well, darn! Yet another plant I suddenly want.

Throughout my career I've found that the best way to solve a problem is to threaten it by going to a greater authority. (It looks like that's you.) I'm now convinced that the plant I'm thinking about is Specklinia dressleri. I apparently have a corrupt memory about the flowers, but those are definitely the leaves that I was thinking of. Unfortunately, the only plants I currently find for sale at the moment are out of my price range. Perhaps in a month or two.

In another direction, along my search I stumbled along history that would fit my story. Specklinia grobyi was apparently only discovered in the mid-1970s, S. dressleri almost a decade later. (Lumper/splitter kind of thing in the genus Pleurothallis? Seems plausible.) While my plant may have been incorretly identified, it's also possible that the nomenclature hadn't even settled down yet. (Will it ever?)

Thanks for all the help.

[Tony Meola]

I purchased mine from New World Orchids. I just checked her website and she has 5 different variations but is out of the one I believe you are looking for.

[dlewan]

Originally Posted by Tony Meola

I purchased mine from New World Orchids. I just checked her website and she has 5 different variations but is out of the one I believe you are looking for.

Nope. Not exactly what I'm looking for.

Thanks for the pointer.