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| Stanhopea nigripes young inflorescence |
This Stanhopea is
native to Peru and grows from elevations of 2,625-6,235 feet (800-1900 m). It grows in mountain forests that have high
humidity and environments that are often moist to wet. This is
one of the Stanhopeas in my
collection that dislikes dry growing media and prefers to be moist at all
times. This species especially responds well to extra water in the summer and
during dry windy days. It prefers shade
and it grows on the north east side of my house where it receives no direct
sun, even in the summer months. This
orchid is listed as an intermediate to cool grower, so I have it growing near
the protection of the house and covered eaves.
The fragrance of this orchid is a rather heady mixture of eucalyptus
and camphor mixed with vanilla. This is
an intense fragrance for this orchid and it can be detected a few feet away
from the flowers. It is a very pleasing
fragrance especially around the end of the year holidays. |
| Stanhopea nigripes flower |
The inflorescences are short 4.0-6.0 in. (10-15 cm) long,
therefore this species does best growing in smaller and shallower baskets. The flowers are 3.9-4.3 in. (10-11 cm) wide
and are beige to a light cream in color with the upper hypochile and base of
the petals enfused with yellow. This form was a
bit difficult to identify because it superficially resembled S. florida in color and the flowers are
slightly larger than typical, but the bend in the hypochile is greater than 90 degrees, therefore more
similar to S. nigripes. I had originally purchased this species as S. haselowiana, but the epichile does
not have the shallow bend of that species.
To ensure proper identification I sent these photos to Rudolf Jenny, and
he has determined that this is S.
nigripes. Thank you Mr. Jenny!
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| Stanhopea nigripes hypochile |
The species is a short to medium sized Stanhopea with pseudobulbs 1.2-1.6 in. (3.0-4.0 cm) wide and leaves
7.9-12.6 in. (20-32 cm) long.
