It is always gratifying to come home from a trip and see
orchids that are not only alive, but blooming. The ones that greeted me after
this summer’s vacation were Cattleya bicolor, Cattleya jenmannii, and a new
one, Ansellia africana This plant has been sitting in the greenhouse for
several years doing nothing, so it was a surprise to see it burst out into a
big spray of bright yellow flowers with a lot of dark brown spots – a
semi-abstract leopard print.
The flowers are lightly fragrant, somewhat like a
combination of woody phenol and vanilla! I’m not sure this would make a very
good perfume, but it’s an interesting scent.
This species is native to a good part of tropical Africa.
The plant is reasonably attractive, looking sort of like a dendrobium, with
tall, upright, succulent canes and broad, elongate leaves. It seems to take a
lot of abuse - heat, cold, drought, and general neglect.
According to the IOSPE (Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia),
the pseudobulbs have traditionally been used for medicinal purposes, as an
emetic, cough remedy, and to “cure madness”. Zulu lore has it that wearing the
pseudobulbs can prevent an ex-lover from having children. Regardless of any
therapeutic value, it’s a beautiful plant.
[Photos are mine. If you look closely, you can see seed pods starting to grow.]
Absolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOh my god, make a cattleya jenmanii perfume. I don't know if yours does this or if you've smelled it at the right time of day and age, but I swear sometimes I can detect a bit of jasmine (the kind used in jasmine tea) in there, but that's my second favorite cattleya fragrance. The fist is leudenmanniana. That is what heaven smells like.
ReplyDeleteMissanna, both of these Cattleya species have wonderful fragrances that seem to change throughout the day. They also seem to vary from one plant to another.
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