Bulbophyllum ornatissimum (Rchb. f.) J.J. Sm. 1912 SECTION Cirrhopetaloides Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994
Photos by © Bernard McDonald and his 'Bulbophyllum Archives.'
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Common Name The Ornate Bulbophyllum
Flower Size 4" [10 cm]
Found in Sikkim as a small sized, warm to hot growing epiphyte with ovoid pseudobulbs and a single, apical, linear-oblong, obtuse leaf that carries 3 to 5, apical, fragrant flowers in an umbel on each erect, 6" [15 cm] long inflorescence which arise from the base of the mature psuedobulb occuring in the fall.
CAUTION!!! These photos are "absolutely correct to all original references", Gardener's Chronicle 1882 Rchb.f; Curtis's Botanical Magazine Vol 118 1892 Hooker. Most other flowers that are said to be this species, that are not, are B rothschildianum, , B wendlandianum, B.putidum and B.appendiculatum. These are rare flower photos of this species as it is critically endangered and very few plants exist in the wild and there is only one specimen flower of this species in alcohol, preserved in the world as far as we can tell.
Synonyms *Cirrhopetalum ornatissimum Rchb. f. 1882; Mastigion ornatissimum (Rchb. f.) Garay, Hamer & Siegerist 1994; Phyllorchis ornatissimum [Rchb.f] Ktze. 1891;
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Orchids of Sikkim-Himalaya Part 1 King & Pantling 1898 as Cirrhopetalum ornatissimum drawing not = B fascinator; AOS Bulletin Vol 31 No 8 1962 photo fide; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 photo not = B rothschildianum; Die Orchideen #1 1-4 tafel 1&2 Rudolph Schlechter 1971 as Cirrhopetalum ornatissimum photo not; Notes on Cirrhopetalum Seidenfaden 1973 drawing fide; Indian Orchids:Guide to Identification and culture Vol 2 Pradhaa 1979 drawing not - B putidum; Manual of Cultivated Orchids Bechtel, Cribb and Laurent 1981 photo not; Die Orchideen lieferung 13 753 - 816 Bulbophyllinae Brieger 1983 as Cirrhopetalum ornatissimum photo fide; The Manual of Cultivated Orchids Bechtel, Cribb and Laurent 1992 photo fide; Orchids of Bhutan Pearce & cribb 2002; Bulbophyllum The Incomplete Guide From A to Why Thoms 2009 photo/drawing fide; 'The Elusive Bulbophyllum Ornatissimum' by Bernard Mcdonald and Andrč Schuiteman The RHS Orchid Review, Volume 121, No 1302, June 2013 photos/drawings fide; Orchids of Odisha Misra 2014 as Mastigion ornatissimum; Orchid Digest Vol 80 #2 2016 not
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