Restrepia primer, or, all of these are not like the others
 

Today I was working in the greenhouse and noticed that four of the larger spotted Restrepia species were blooming in the same tray and I thought "what a marvelous teaching moment".
If you own any of the spotted Restrepia or are blooming them for the first time it is difficult to tell some of them apart. Here are 4 that are similar until you put them next to each other.
The first picture is labeled and shows all four of them side by side, well, as close as I could get them.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psab0c1902.jpg

Here is a close up of Restrepia guttulata

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps02beae81.jpg

Next this is Restrepia sanguinea

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps5a16c702.jpg

This is a close up of Restrepia elegans

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps13cbdac3.jpg

Lastly Restrepia dodsonii. This one and guttulata are very often mistaken for one another. There is a distinct pair of lighter colored lines running parallel off center in R. dodsonii as seen in this shot

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps5a2bca72.jpg

I apologize for the heavy photo content. I hope these photos are helpful if you are trying to identify your large spotted Restrepia.

Thanks for the tutorial! Maybe striped restrepias next?

Great post...and beautiful.

Gorgeous photos and awesome knowledge! Thank you!

As soon as the little buggers bloom I think the R. antennifera is about to go, it's a striped and one of the larger ones too. There are small flowered spotted that I need to get to as well!

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Thank you Katrina, I really like sharing on such obscure little plants.

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Thank you, I'm still working on the photography. I think I'll get there eventually!

A+ post! No apologies needed for beautiful, quality, educational photos! Thank you!

Thank you, I enjoy sharing what little I know!

I agree with Cambria! This is a wonderful post Liana and very educational. You should give yourself more credit for those great pics, though!

Can you shoot me a PM with some info on your camera rig? I'm getting into macro photography and I would love some tips to get me started. :D

Good Lord! gorgeous flowers and great pictures. thanks for the lesson!

Thank you John, I appreciate the kind words.

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Thank you BethMarie!

Really cool to see them all together, there lovely.

I was very excited to find this post as I just got my first Restrepia - it is Restrephia Iris. It had one flower when I bought it and I just fell in love.

Any advice for a newbie to this genus?

Restrepia iris is a great little plant! Mine has been constantly shooting out flowers since I got it in November. There is no way someone couldn't love it's little flowers! I currently have mine in a terrarium, although I doubt it's necessary. My temps are intermediate/warm and it's getting moderate light. I don't think these are very picky plants and they seem pretty resilient within reason. Good luck, Carrie! :biggrin:

I agree with the others, this should be a sticky! Liana, do you have happen to have any pictures to help compare other similar species? Maybe some of the striated species or yellow ones?

Thanks! :bowing

I think i'll add more plants as they come into bloom so they are formatted the same with lighting and backdrop etc. R. antennifera is getting ready to bloom and I have several other species including R iris.
Like John said, these are not real picky. They do like being somewhat moist and a few prefer cool over intermediate.
Most of them like high light but don't take direct sunlight well. 80's for absolute highs and 50's for the lows. Mine are all sitting in at 50 during the nights and blooming pretty well.
These tend to have a weedy habit and will send new growths when they are established in their environment. I've has some that sat almost dormant for about a year before they took off.
Hope that helps!

Thanks for all the tips.

Mine is mounted and dries in about 2 days at which point it gets "dunked". I'm looking forward to blooms!

LET IT BE A STICKY!


And so it was.

My observation of my Restrepia iris, is that the flowers only last 5 days or so. Do any last longer?

I think my longest lasting flower from iris has been 7 days but most are 5-6. My brachypus seems to stay open a little longer and lasts 6-7 days. I can't speak for other species, though.

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What they lack in "lasting blooms" they far make up for it with constant blooms. My R. brachyapus have been blooming since April this year.

Oh, and they put on quite a show when the plant gets bigger. Lots of blooms all at once. It's very cool