Saturday, April 11, 2009

Epidendrum cochleatum orchid



This orchid known mostly by it's common names - Clamshell orchid, Cockle Shell orchid or Octopus orchid. This species has the honor of being the first tropical epiphytic orchid to flower at Kew Gardens, England in 1787. 

Its native to Mexico, Central and South America and West Indies, grows in a wide variety of habitats and one of the favourite orchids in cultivation. These orchids are evergreen but have a distinct period of dormancy when watering needs to be reduced. They are easy to cultivate and need plenty of water and fertilising with a lot of air movement during actively growing season. 

The flower heart-shaped and broadly striped grow upwards while the narrow yellow-green petals hang downwards - giving appearance of some exotic sea creature.


9 comments:

  1. I have seen this beauty but didn't know about its history or origin - so thanks for that.

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  2. It’s so nice site. We love to see more on this site. Keep on updating… MonkAreRee Bali ***klkjlkjk

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  3. Amazing collection !!
    Some I've seen at the Phil Flower show and was very impressed.

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  4. It is always a pleasure to visit your blog to see the myriad of orchids.

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  5. beautiful, like a creature from deep sea :)

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  6. Hi Klara, just stopping by to say hi. This orchid sure does look a bit strange to me...but it's beautiful in it's own way, right?! Your dedication to orchids does help others start to see them more, and begin to appreciate them. I'm still not on the bandwagon, but when I see one, I always think of you;-) (in a good way, of course!!)

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  7. Thank you everyone's for your comments and for checking out my blog and appreciating these beautiful creations of Nature.

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  8. Like the blog - one small problem is that this plant is known to us now as "Prosthechea cochleata" - not "Epidendrum"

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  9. I have a couple of Prosthechea cochleatas , agree they are not Epidendrum , those flowers are like spiders, a beauty!!!.

    Congratulations for your blog, I just started mine...

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