Stanhopea tigrina 'SanBar Gold'

S. tigrina var. nigroviolacea 'SanBar Gold'

   

This is another spectacular form of the Mexican species Stanhopea tigrina var. nigroviolacea.  These are the first flowers that have been produced by this plant, but it is a rather vigorous form and produces several growths per year.  I am looking forward to additional inflorescences next year. The flowers have some of the most intense colors of yellow-gold I have seen in this species.  The infusion of gold is most prevalent at the sepal and petal tips and even into the horns.

 

S. tigrina var. nigroviolacea 'SanBar Gold'
showing gold color on back of sepals

The deep gold color is also infused into the back of the petals which makes the flower glow a brilliant golden color.  The back of the petals of the other forms I have are a buff or light yellow in color.  These color combinations make this form a winner in my opinion, especially because of the gold combined with the deep oxblood color of the petals and sepals. 

Stanhopea ruckeri var. alba

This is the form of S. ruckeri that lacks red in the flowers, with no eye spots and no red spots on the petals, sepals, hypochile and column.  The flower is a clean off-white color with green to green blue color infused into the sepals and petals.  The hypochile is a deep yellow color at the base and ivory white on the epichile.  The column is white with a well-defined blue-green infusion of color in the center that is often not captured well in photographs.  Altogether this is a good representative of the crisp and clean color combinations of an alba form of S. ruckeri in sharp contrast to the red spotted form.

S. ruckeri var. alba flowers

S. ruckeri var. alba column with blue-green coloration

 

The fragrance of this flower is very light and almost undetectable.  It favors a slight fresh baked bread scent mixed with lily.   It would seem that this is the form that was given the specific epithet of inodora for its” lack “of fragrance compared with other more fragrant Stanhopea.  This orchid also resembles the plate of S. inodora found in Edward's Botanical Register and published in 1845, from a plant that was imported from Mexico.

Stanhopea stevensonii

This orchid is native to Colombia.  It grows in intermediate to warm mountain forests at approximately 1,312 feet (400-m) in elevation.  This species requires shade and copious amounts of water.  I grow the plant on the north side of my house, and  it appears to need more shade thus it grows better here than with greater sun exposure.  This species has golden yellow flowers with pale red eye spots on the upper hypochile, and few small red spots on the petals and sepals.  There are also small red spots on the epichile and column.  The fragrance of this Stanhopea is difficult to describe and smells sweet but rather chemical-like.  The fragrance is similar to sweet grass with trace amounts of fresh pine needles. Some individuals have described the fragrance as being similar to moth balls, but I have not detected this fragrance in fresh flowers. 

Stanhopea stevensonii inflorescence

 

The flowers are 3.0 to 3.2 inches (7.6 to 8.1 cm) wide with several flowers (5-7) on an inflorescence.   The inflorescences are rather short, to 6 inches (15.2 cm) in length.  This is one of the smaller Stanhopea with short inflorescences, so it is best to grow it in a small basket.  I grow my specimen in an 8 inch (20 cm) basket and it has been doing well in that size basket for years. The leaves of this orchid are a light green, and are 7.5 to 10.5 inches (19 to 26 cm) long and 3.9 to 4.8 inches (10 to 12 cm) wide.  The pseudobulbs are 1.6-2.2 inches (4.0 to 5.6 cm) long and deeply furrowed. 

Stanhopea stevensonii flower

Cirrhaea dependens

This is a small to medium sized orchid that is native to Brazil and found in seasonally dry forests from elevation of 2,297 to 3,937 feet (700 to 1200 m).  The orchid grows in warm locations and requires part shade to prevent the leaves from burning.  It does well in conditions that are similar for growing most Gongora.  The inflorescences are pendulous  1.0 to 1.3 feet (30-40 cm) long, and emerge from the top of the growing medium, so it is best to grow this orchid in baskets.

Cirrhaea dependens flower "dark form"

The flowers are resupinate so even though the inflorescence grows down, the labellum faces up and opens partially.  The flowers can have a green to yellow background with pink to red spots over the petals and sepals.  The form that is in this photograph is the” dark form” with deep maroon markings on the sepals and petals.  The flowers are also short lived similar to Stanhopea and last for only a few days.

Cirrhaea dependens inflorescence
with partially opened flowers