Featured Orchid
Bulbophyllums
Bulbophyllum Melting Point ‘Bryon’ (Doris Dukes x longissimum). Grown and photographed by Bryon Rinke Plan to attend our June meeting for a unique opportunity to hear a detailed presentation by an expert on Bulbophyllum and its allies, Tom Nasser of Carolina Orchids. Tom has agreed to	length to the large species having leaves over a meter long. Flowers of Bulbophyllum range in size from millimeter to several centimeters that generally have a hinged column-foot. While the hinged arrangement causes the flowers parts to move in breezes and attract its pollinators, Bulbophyllum also use fragrance as an attractant. Some Bulbophyllum are known for their foul fragrances, including the smell of rotted flesh, urine, and dung; while these fragrances may be objectionable to humans, they are attractants to the plants pollinators. Most Bulbophyllum flowers do not have objectionable odors and even the ones that do can be forgiven, or tolerated, because their beauty and diversity makes this genus highly desirable to collectors. References: Siegerist, E. S. (2001). Bulbophyllums and their allies: A grower’s guide. Timber Press Pridgeon, A. (1999). The illustrated encyclopedia
share his knowledge about this diverse genus with us and he will have plants for purchase. The following is an introduction to the genus Bulbophyllum. Bulbophyllum, pronounced bul-bo-FILL-um, is diverse genus containing more than 2000 species divided into over 100 sections and subgenera. The genus is considered pantropical because it is distributed throughout the world’s tropical areas. With a concentration in Southeast Asia, primarily New Guinea, the genus also distributes to the tropics of the South and Central Americas. Bulbophyllum typically grow as epiphytes, sympodial on creeping rhizomes having pseudobulbs that produce one or two leaves. A differentiating factor for Bulbophyllum compared to many other genera of Orchid is that the inflorescence originates from the rhizome or the base of the pseudobulb rather than its apex or side. Bulbophyllum plants range in size from the miniatures having leaves a few millimeters in	of Orchids. Timber Press Bulbophyllum Frank Smith ‘Karlene’ CCE/AOS (lobbii x carunculatum) Grown by Mark & Karlene Sanborn Photographed by Karl Siegler Mark Sanborn, KOS President