Wednesday, October 19, 2005

More orchids in bloom.

The cooler, drier weather and the shortening diurnal cycle triggered many of my orchids to bloom.

Left, Cycnodes 'Wine Delight'; and below a
Brsdm. Longlen, 'Orchid Man', just covered in dancing flowers.

Note the beautiful gynostemium in the center of the flowers. Anatomically, it's the combined male-female sexual organs, the stamen and pistil. You can see, perhaps, why Orchidaceae have always been perceived as sexually ambiguous, provocative flowers. (Orchis in Greek is testicle, apparently a similarity to the pseudo-bulb of some species.)

The flower of the Brassidium below, though the hybrid is called 'Orchid Man', looks very feminine to me -- striking a "come-hither" pose... Like other Oncidium-tribe I grow, this one is truly a no-maintenance plant, save for its weekly weak fertilizing.

1 comment:

Jack said...

I love how cute and eye catching the background is. The colour is very nice. Loved you work too, Can you add more writing in the post and more pictures too, if you can?