#dichaea

Orchid (Dichaea pendula)

#Dichaeadammeriana #Dichaea #orchids #orquídeas #panamaorchids #insitu #orchidslovers #cerroazulpanama #nofilter Common Name Dammer's Dichaea [Head Gardener at Berlin Botanical Garden late 1800's] Flower Size 1/4" [6 mm] Found in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador in montane rain and cloud forests at elevations of 200 to 1950 meters as a miniature to small sized, hot to cool growing epiphyte with a pendant growth habit, and a slender stem carrying persistant, brownish green, ligulate-lanceolate, thin, acute, hispid-cilate margined leaves with an apiculate and ciliolate apex that blooms in the spring through summer on an axillary, .24 t o.6" [6 to 15 mm] long, single flowered inflorescence with a muricate ovary (en Los Altos de Cerro Azul)

The orchid genus Dichaea includes some of the strangest orchids i have ever seen in person. Take this one for example. My sources tell me this is likely D. globosa. Right off the bat, the bristly seed pods are a tell for this genus. With this particular species, each stem juts off of the trunk of a tree at a near 90 degree angle. The stem itself is horizontally flattened and the subtle yet beautiful flowers emerge from between the leaves and are presented below the plant, facing the ground. I had seen this orchid out of flower in a few places in Costa Rica, however, I was lucky enough to stumble across these individuals in flower while hiking in Panama. An exciting find for this orchid fanatic!

Dichaea pendula.