Stanhopea costaricensis

Stanhopea costaricensis inflorescence

Stanhopea costaricensis is native to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama from elevations 1,640 to 3,280 feet (500 to 1000 m).  It is native to tropical and warm forests, and grows best in intermediate to warm conditions. This species does not tolerate low humidity and high light situations and the leaves can burn easily in direct sun.  The inflorescence is up to 8 inches (20.3 cm) long and often 3-5 flowered, making this a good choice for large basket culture.  The flowers are 5.5 inches (14 cm) wide and resemble those of S. oculata.  However, the hypochile has a restricted center portion that makes it form two broad segments that are almost unique in Stanhopea (S. gibbosa has a similar shaped hypochile).

Stanhopea costaricensis flowers

This is a seedling that I purchased from Tropical Orchid Farm of Hawaii and it has a light yellow to cream color in the sepals and petals with several torus shaped (like the letter O) spots that are reddish brown.  The petals have two solid distinct eyes in the same color.  The hypochile is light pink to flesh colored and has dark red eyes and is stippled with red to dark pink small spots.  The mesochile is cream colored and the horns are the same color with the interior portion exhibiting several pink spots.  The epichile is also cream colored with dark pink spots.  This form is an example of variation seen in the species with some forms having less pink and more yellow in the hypochile.  Seedlings can pay off sometimes providing some of the most favorable color variations and spot characters.

Stanhopea costaricensis flower close-up

 

The fragrance of this orchid is camphor scented when it first opens and later it is a combination of camphor and cinnamon.  This species has become one of my new best favorites and a nice fall bloomer that extends the blooming season for my Stanhopea collection!

Stanhopea candida

Stanhopea candida

Stanhopea candida inflorescence

This orchid is native to warm forests and foothills of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.   It is found at elevations from 330 to 1,970 feet (100 to 600 m).  This is one of the several Stanhopeas that need warm temperatures all year around, so I bring the plant inside the house from November through March.  I grow it outside in the spring and summer months on the north side of the house where it receives indirect light and mostly shade.  This orchid enjoys a warm and humid atmosphere with a relatively moist growing medium.  It also grows well in ventilated ares with a good breeze.  The fragrance of S. candida is primarily the scent of wintergreen.  Wintergreen is one of the major components in the pain reliever Bengay, so that is exactly what this flower smells like, though it is rather light in scent.  This is a fall blooming species of Stanhopea, though some have reported that it also blooms in the spring.

 

Stanhopea candida hypochile with
small pink spots

This Stanhopea is closely related to S. grandiflora and S. reichenbachiana.  The flowers are small (2.75 to 3.15 inches – 7.0 to 8.0 cm) wide, primarily white, and have no real horns.  There are two short curved projections on either side of the upper hypochile.  The remaining hypochile is joined into a short tube that opens to both the upper hypochile and epichile.  On the front side of the hypochile are small pink spots, the only other color on this flower.  The epichile is a short lanceolate shaped projection.  The column is an off white color that is infused with green and is almost florescent. The leaves of S. candida are usually 9.8 to 19.6 inches (25 to 50 cm) long; however, my form has shorter leaves 9 to 12 inches (22.8 to 30.5 cm) long and 2.5 to 4.2 inches (6.4 to 10.7 cm) wide.  These orchids are  rather short  with small pseudobulbs 0.75 to 1.2 inches (1.9 to 3.0 cm) wide at maturity.  The plant may be smaller in size because it is still a little young.  I also grow it outdoors in the summer where it is less humid and warm in comparison to the tropical conditions the orchid finds acceptable.



Stanhopea candida hypochile and column

In side profile the hypochile has a rather rectangular configuration.  The buds of this species emerge through the inflorescence bracts rather early in development, and spend a large amount of time developing outside the bracts.  This is in contrast to many other Stanhopea that allow the buds to develop for a long time inside the inflorescence bracts before they emerge.





Stanhopea wardii

 

Stanhopea wardii var. citrina inflorescence with five flowers

This species is native to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela.  It grows in warm to cool cloud forests from 2600 – 5300 feet (800-1600 meters) in elevation.  It is one of the easier species of Stanhopea to grow outside here in southern California, and can take early morning sun and dappled shade the rest of the day.  This form is S. wardii var. citrina and has green/yellow flowers when they first open, almost chartreus in color.  The flowers later fade to a more burnt yellow or golden yellow color.  The standard form is a more subdued yellow color.  Both forms have a black eye spot on the upper hypochile that is a deep golden yellow color.  The fragrance of this Stanhopea is rather intense lemon/citrus at first.  After the flowers have been open for a few hours the fragrance lessens to a tart lime fragrance similar to crushed lime leaves.  It is a very pleasant and clean fragrance.  This seems to be consistent with the fragrance study done that includes limonene in some clones at 1.7%.; however, I have not detected the 1.8 cineole of 1-33% that would give it a Eucalyptus or camphor-like fragrance in this form.

 

Stanhopea wardii var. citrina close up

The flower is 2.8 to 3.1 inches (7.0 to 8 cm) wide but there are usually several flowers (7-10) on a given inflorescence.   The inflorescences can be quite long, up to 9 inches (22.9 cm) in length in many S. wardii forms.  Because the inflorescences are so long, this species can make a very nice specimen placed in a large basket that enables the inflorescences to grow out and down.  The leaves of this orchid are a thick and leathery, green with a slight blue-gray tint to them, and are 9 to 16 inches  (22.9 to 40.6 cm) long and 2.8 to 3.8 inches (7.1 to 9.6 cm)  wide.  This orchid is one of the more easily grown species of Stanhopea and are often readily available in the orchid nursery trade.  For me, S. wardii has been a reliable bloomer every year and easily produces several inflorescences.  These attributes make this Stanhopea a good candidate to grow for a beginning grower.



Stanhopea wardii var.
citrina bud


The buds that are close to opening have a fantastic flourescent chartreus color, and the reddish brown spotts on the sepals can be seen before the flower opens!