AboutOrchids

As promised, here are some additional photos from our trip to San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers. I’ll start with more warm growing orchids, like these 2 gorgeous Paphs, followed by 2 colorful members of the Oncidium family. Among its thousands of tropical plants and flowers, the Conservatory has a resident gecko population to help with pest control. These beautiful, un-eaten blooms are proof that the geckoes are on the job.

When we started to sweat in the displays with warm growing plants, it was great to step into the Highland Tropics Gallery to cool off. The Conservatory has a large collection of cool growing orchids, native to tropical mountain rainforests. These extraordinary members of the Masdevallia family enjoy the cool temperatures. Some are full of color, while others gleam in translucent white.

I’ve saved the strangest flowers for last. Among the more unusual blooms are 2 small, cool growing Masdevallia relatives. The first photo shows a tiny Scaphosepalum flower, seemingly in flight. The second photo may look like a fuzzy caterpillar, but it’s actually a group of miniature Stelis flowers. Finally, a large, weird (non-orchid) flower is known as the Bat Flower, or Cat’s Whiskers. They’re all part of the Conservatory’s remarkable displays.

Explore posts in the same categories: Botanical Gardens, Cool Growers, Mini Orchids, Photos, Warm Growers

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 6th, 2009 at 9:59 pm and is filed under Botanical Gardens, Cool Growers, Mini Orchids, Photos, Warm Growers.

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