Wardian Case Gallery

Restrepia antennifera

Originally a small keiki given to me by a generous local orchid grower, this member of the pleurothallid alliance is almost always in spike or bloom.  At the base of each leaf is a small growing area where individual scapes bearing a single flower will emerge.  Individual flowers only last 3 or 4 days, but a reasonable-sized plant will more than make up for short bloom life with sheer number of blooms.  These flowers are also fragrant, but the fragrance can best be described as "old rotten banana peel"...fortunately, it's not strong, so you can get quite close to the smallish (about 3/4" from top to bottom) flowers with impunity.

Next Page: Scaphosepalum microdactylum

Return to Wardian Case Article

Copyright © 2002, Prem Subrahmanyam, All Rights Reserved.