Please Post Your Most Bizarre Orchid Flower.
 

My Bulbophyllum medusae is in bloom. I have seen many pictures of this plant—which caused me to get one for myself. After a couple of years, it has bloomed! This has to be the most bizarre looking flower ever. It is also scented BUT it smells like bleach. What kind of pollinator would be attracted to bleach?

Can any one top this flower?

https://s20.postimg.org/j35wzb5j1/FA...46_B1_A8_B.jpg

I don't have one...

Is it a chlorine smell or like a scented bleach smell?

I would imagine whatever chemicals are cooking up in those flowers, none of them is gaseous chlorine (just a guess, I could be wrong).

Perhaps it's an unrelated chemical that just happens to trigger the same receptors in our noses as does the bleach, but to the pollinator of this plant (presumably an arthropod of some sort), it smells like a thing that cannot be ignored and must be investigated.

But I agree, there are lots of "chemically" smelling orchid fragrances out there: moth balls, camphor, pine sol, etc. And they do make you wonder, what kind of bug is attracted to the smell of burnt plastic?

Here is mine! Lepanthes gargoyla:

That is an odd looking flower, Leafmite.

I am always amazed at the variety of orchids. :)

Any of the Stanhopeas have to be up there with "weirdest" Here's Stanhopea tigrina var. nigroviolacea. Squid maybe? These open with a snap, releasing a burst of heady perfume. Downside is that flowers only last a day or two, alas.

Gongora rufescens, my little red dragons:

It is really encouraging that you all have submitted so many different flower styles. Every flower here is unusual.

Several years ago I had a specimen size of Bulbophyllum medusae that produced numerous flowers. I recall donating it to the local orchid society auction because I was so disappointed in the short duration of the flowers. It seems I recall that they only lasted for about one week in good condition. Recently I have wanted to get another so I am wondering if you might tell me how long the flower on your plant lasts.

Hello Jerry. Your recollection is correct. These flowers lasted a week. I find most of my Bulbophyllum plants, flowers last a week.

Some orchids you just have to enjoy in the moment... And take photos, which last. Some of the most spectacular flowers are short-lived but to me, well worth growing for the special moment. All the more reason to look at your orchids every day, to be sure of not missing out on something wonderful.

This is mine. Diplocaulobium tentaculata “Little Urchin “

The plant is tiny, the flowers are huge and they only last between 12 and 24 hours. As the flower fades, it turns a pink color.

This pot is 1.5” tall

I love plants where the flowers are bigger than the plant and the name is bigger than both! :biggrin:

Even if you didn't get flowers, the plant growing in the tiny moss covered pot sure does appeal to my eye. How do you manage to keep that moss alive and growing in and on that small container?

---------- Post added at 12:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:41 PM ----------

Thanks Matt.

[QUOTE=Leisurely;858192]Even if you didn't get flowers, the plant growing in the tiny moss covered pot sure does appeal to my eye. How do you manage to keep that moss alive and growing in and on that small container?[COLOR="Silver"]

Thank you! The plant grows in a shelving unit greenhouse and I water it throughly every other day, spray the moss daily. It sits on wine cork “feet” in a small plastic saucer, never sitting in water. The pot is almost covered in moss now. Cute little plant! Repotting this next spring will be difficult as I hate to ruin the moss pot.

I think the Paphs, especially the long-petaled ones, are of the the most elegantly bizarre flowers in the orchid family.

These are two different clones of Paph. Michael Koopowitz.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1667/...ec387048_o.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4173/...eae399d9_o.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4175/...46d345d7_o.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4192/...9d32eb31_o.jpg

Great photography of an eerily beautiful plant! Ty.

I've posted this one before, but mine is Pleurothallis condorensis.

https://i.imgur.com/IDKU1Gw.jpg

Perfect pot, perfect plant, perfect photo. Nice job!

One must love all the unusual orchid blooms. Wonderful all of them.

I'm just getting caught up on this thread. I don't have any that could be described as bizarre, but I am enjoying everyone's photos here! The diversity of orchids is one of the things I love about them so much.

Anoectochilus formosanus (in bloom now)

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...122_183113.jpg

... coming soon I have 2 spikes on Den. spectabile which will be nice and weird looking

One of the stranger ones in my collection.
Bulbophyllum fascinator var. semi-alba (and you can see the fly that got stuck in the hinged lip)

This
https://i.imgur.com/6LeEQWp.jpg?1
Pterostylis curta

One of my favorites. What other orchid multiplies like the does? Totally fun.

Sara Jean, flies must be the pollenators of Bulb. fascinator. Back a month or so ago, I was in the greenhouse and saw a fly (stable fly) stuck in the flower. It was stuck there long enough for me to run back to house and get my camera and snap a few photos. It buzzed and flapped it’s wings for about five minutes before it got loose. Pretty cool, though it did not get the job done of pollenating the flower. There where other B. fascinators in bloom in the greenhouse at the same time, must of been it’s first time. Interesting to see how it fit perfectly in the flower and how the flower held the fly with the two hooks on the column, so the pollen sacks could be raked off by the hairs on its back. Not our most bizarre flower, though a lot of the bulbos flowers are pretty strange looking, I like Rhyncholaelia digbyana, with its fringed lip.

So interesting to see the different interesting/non standard flowers!

Do you suppose that people who have these orchids with such bizarre presentation are like their orchids personality-wise? I was looking at this thread on my workstation and someone came by, saw the flowers, was curious, and said “those flowers will never find inclusion in a bridal bouquet!”

Says more about the limitations of the person who can only think of orchids in that limited context. Boorrrring. The bizarre orchids are soooo much interesting. Or maybe I'm just bizarre...

If it means that we have a sense of humor, yes. The Lepanthes was given to me as a gift and when it bloomed for the first time, I laughed out loud as the bloom was so bizarre (my family uses the term 'ugly'). It is such an easy Lepanthes to grow and bloom that I might as well keep it.

I agree Roberta, the bizarre flowers are so much more interesting and for me, the miniature, teenie flowers are just fascinating. They are so small yet perfect.

Thanks Matt for starting this thread, it has been very interesting. I hope to see more bizarre flowers soon!

Most people say that the flower of Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' looks like a butterfly. But I think that it looks more like a Monkey King.

Oh, I love that simile! Yes, spot-on. (I always thought they looked more like some sort of strange bug than a butterfly, but I like yours better! Reminds me of performance that I saw on a trip to China last year)

https://i.imgur.com/iKDlBin.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/pqXgC6F.jpg

The plant itself is not especially unusual, but nearly each of the flowers on the spike had something odd about it. The one missing petals was my favorite, but the one with missing lips was neat too.

I got an interesting one from Hausermann's last spring. It hasn't rebloomed yet, though.

The pelorics have their adherents, but I am not one. On the other hand, I have to admit that they occasionally produce something unique.

I am posting a photo of a peloric Cymbidium in the Cymbidium thread today. And, I have an interesting Cymbidium seedling in spike, it is a cross between a petal peloric and a sepal peloric. To this point, nobody knows whether those forms are genetically stable, but we will get an indication in a couple of months.

These are not in my collection but are some I photographed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. So I can't claim any credit for good growing, only the photography.

Attachment 130881 Bulbophyllum afrikianum

Attachment 130882 Dendrobium chrysopterum

Attachment 130883 Dendrobium spectabile

Attachment 130884 Dendrobium spectabile