My orchid is one of those few he kept from the 121 seedlings he grew, and I believe it is somewhere around 20 years old now and flowering for the first time! :D

Eulophia callichroma is an interesting terrestrial orchid from several African countries including Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Eulophia is one of my favorite orchid genera as many of its species break the expected norm that orchids require warm, humid, tropical sorts of places. While not the most extreme species in the genus (Eulophia petersii is noted as being the 'desert orchid' after all), it still does an impressive job thriving in rocky landscapes and forests in the slightly wetter end of the mediterranean climate range with a very harshly pronounced dry season. Swollen stems known as pseudobulbs store water and nutrients and will slowly shrivel through the dry season to be replenished when rain again falls. Like many other Eulophia, it requires a dry winter to bloom, and this species is noted as often blooming following a period of fire. In such dry climates it is quite natural for many native species to be adapted to and ultimately benefit from occasional fires. Unfortunately the introduction of non-native species and human intervention in the progress of wildfires often results in more severe fires which threaten not only human establishment but also surpass what fire-adapted species are able to tolerate.

#eulophia #orchidsofinstagram #orchid #orchidee #orchidée #orquideas #orchideen #greenthumb #plantvibes #plantlove #orchidboys #orchidlove #orchidworld #instaorchid #plants #instagram #instaplants #instaplant (hier: Austria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLpNrFsh9nu/?igshid=1lmvailjmcpdu

Wild Coco (Eulophia alta) in a wetland of northern Peru. 

Garden update: a new pseudobulb emerging on the tiny Eulophia petersii. I got this from a cactus club member at a swap a couple years ago and it seems to put out one pseudobulb a year. The leaves are only a couple inches long, so this is a pretty tiny specimen. #eulophia #eulophiapetersii #succulent #succulove #orchid #gardening #houseplant #plantnerd #containergarden

Went to Volunteer Park Conservatory with friends last weekend! So many things were in flower! It’s one of my favorite places in Seattle.

Oeceoclades calcarata is a terrestrial orchid endemic to Madagascar where it grows in the sandy or rocky soil of elevated dry forests. Eulophia and Oeceoclades orchid genera are largely known for their tough pseudobulbs (storage organs) and often stiff leaves, at odds with most of the family Orchidaceae for favoring dry, terrestrial habits. This species in particular mildly demonstrates how nightmarish plant taxonomy can become. In fact, if you look it up on wikipedia, you'll find the article only talks about the taxonomy rather than attributes of the plant! As a quick summary, in 1905 it was called Eulophia paniculata, later renamed Cymbidium calcaratum, then transferred to be Eulophia calcarata. 51 years after the last name change it was shifted once again to be its final name: Oeceoclades calcarata. From what I have heard, these sorts of taxonomical disagreements can actually become quite heated in botanical circles when they come up.