More Nervilias

If you like to grow orchids that do not look anything like an orchid, try growing a selection of nervilias. They come in various sizes, shades, color, texture. They are small and fit very well into 3.5 to 4" pots. When they are resting, you can put stack them up under the bench or in the cellar.

At this point, i'm betting on the smallest being Nervilia crociformis based on its eastern origins.  However, think N. punctata is also a very strong contender based on the leaf.

Nervilia plicata

This is probably one of the more common Nervilia in cultivation. It took me some time to figure out how to grow these terrestial orchids:

1. Pot in a light well draining and aerated mix. Light loam with some peat/humus and perlite/pumice is fine.

2. Water generously during the growing phase when new leaves appear.  Stolons and runners will also be produced. Small new white tubers start to form underground.

3. Reduce watering when the leaves start to brown or die back.  The underground tubers harden. Interconnecting stolons dry up.

4. Water once a week during dormancy.  The mix should be marginally moist. How much moisture can a 1-2 cm diameter tuber holds over 8-12 weeks?

5. With good care, you should be able to double or triple the corms each year.

The leaves are quite variable.  The photo above and below are those of the same clone growth in 2008 and 2009 respectively.  

It is a very widespread species with a range from Deccan, India all the way east to New Guinea and extends north to southwestern China and south to northern Australia. The recorded localities are concentrated in the tropical monsoon belt. So far, i have not come across it in habitat. It surely blends in with leaf litter in deciduous forest.

Nervilia aragoana

Appears to be another form of N. aragoana. This comes from Taminbar Island towards the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago. The leaves are very close to Thai N. aragoana. With care and a bit of luck, would expect it to flower in the next growing season.

Below is a lush pot of a malaysian form 3 months after I wrote an entry. Check it out. (http://tulear.blogspot.com/2008/11/nervilia-aragoana.html)

Habenaria lindleyana

I wrote about this beautiful Habenaria lindleyana 1 year back. (http://tulear.blogspot.com/2007/11/perfect-flower-before-i-left-for-2-week.html). The parent plant featured went into dormancy in december 2007 forming 3 tubers. 1 big and 2 small tubers.  This second generation tubers have once again grown very nicely over 2008 and reward me with a beautiful crop of flowers!  Due to accidental neglect during a hot spell and an attack of spider mites, the bigger plant as aborted flowered and has since went into dormancy forming a new single tuber. Hopefully, i would be able to increase the number of new tubers and hence new plants for 2009.  

Nervilia aragoana

This is one of the most wide-ranging orchid in the world... recorded from Deccan, India all the way across subtropical Asia to Ryukyu Island, Japan in the North and Pacific Islands of Guam, Fiji, Niue to the South and even further east to Samoa.  

My beautiful N. aragoana originates from peninsular Malaysia, which is in between the 2 extremes of India and Pacific Islands.  It is like a miniature Gunnera or Petasites from cool temperate zone contained in a 4" pot.  During the growing season a new leaf grow from a underground globular tuber; as the leaf mature and "harden", new-stolon like root runners grow from the base of the leaf stalk into loose humus rich soil to form new tubers. It is an easy terrestial orchid that require generous watering and humidity during the vegetative growing season and a bit of a dry-out between watering during the dormant stage. Depending on origins and habitat and general health of the orchid, the leaf can range from 2" to 7" across. The flowers are nothing much to talk about. Since i've only a single clone.. it seems to have an ability to self pollinate for the last few terminal flowers to propagate ifself when cross fertilization mechanism is not available.

An unfolding young leaf:

Pure Beauty - Habenaria myriotricha/medusae

This is a jaw-dropping beauty from Laos or Thailand. I've seen it once in Bangkok and that beautiful memory stayed with me. Recently, i was very lucky to purchase what i suspected is a H. myriotricha plant from a local orchid nursery. They had imported some plants from Thailand in preparation for a plant exhibition cum trade fair. Keeping my fingers crossed... and it turned out to the plant of my dreams.

According to Seidenfaden, there are 3 species - H. medusae from northern Sumatra, H. myriotricha from Thailand/Laos & H. beccarii from Sulawesi. H. medusae and H. myriotricha are almost identical while H. beccarii has broader and shorter fringes on the side lobes. Knowing that my plant originated from Thailand i'm sticking to H. myriotricha. The inflorescences is erect and measured 40-50 cm tall from ground. Each flower is about 3 cm across, with long graceful thin fringes on the sidelobes and a long spur.

Again this is a deciduous terrestial from monsoonal belt - Indochina, northern Sumatra, Sulawesi with a very distinct dry/wet season. When the plant is growing, water generously and feed it with dilute fertilizer regularly to promote strong growth and flowers. After flowering, once leaves start to yellow reduce watering as the plant prepares for dormancy by withdrawing starch from the leaves and stem to form the tuber. Slowly, water less and less. Once the tuber is fully form, it can be kept dry for about 3-4 mths.

Eulophia andamanensis

Chances are you can find pseudobulbs of this species at general herbal, tuber, & bulb store at Bangkok's renowned Chatuchak market. Eulophia andamanensis is a widely distributed species throughout Thailand, into Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam), Myanmar (Tenasserim) and also Northern Malaysia. My gut feel is it can adapt and spread on disturbed forest or grasslands just like Spathoglottis plicata occupying degraded land in Malaysia and Singapore.

Four or five years ago this guy in my neighbourhood gave me a fistful of pseudobulbs from his sad rotting clump. It thrives under general succulent care ie. if the plant is in leaf i water, else i don't. Over the course of 2 years, the pseudobulbs spread to fill two 12 inch pots. Typically, it stays dormant for about 4-5 mths. Only recently did it flower under severely underpotted condition. There appears to be 2 color forms (light green and brown) in the clumps.

Oeceoclade calcarata

This is probably one of the more commonly offered Oeceoclades species in the orchid market. I got my from Burleigh Park Orchids an Austrialian nursery by sharing a shipment with other local orchid hobbyists. Once again, the label says it is O. decaryana. Many other offers and photos on the web suggest it is O. calcarata. This is my first and oldest pot of Oeceoclades. And one of the most prolific growers with multiple growing points. Even the bud on top of a old pseudobulb is capable of giving rise to an new offset - bottom right. It is extremely succulent and drought tolerant with very strong thick roots covered with exceptionally spongy velamen. Unfortunately, it is flower shy; a firm identification will have to wait. Garay & Taylor* mentions that the type specimen is without precise locality, probably again from deciduous forest of northern or western Madagascar.

This post and the last few posts cover my Oeceoclades collection. If someone is going to order an Oeceoclades petiolata from ISI 2008 offering contact me!

*The Genus Oeceoclades by L. Garay & P. Taylor in Botanical Museum Leaflets Harvard University, Vol. 24, No. 9.

Oeceoclades spathulifera?

This is species very closely related to O. calcarata. In my view, without flowering this orchid, it would be more appropriate to classify it as different colour variant of O. calcarata. The leaves are very thick, the surface is hard and shiny as if coated with clear varnish. The thick, hard pseudobulbs are distinctively 4-angled. I got it when it was a seedling and it came with a label O. spathulifera. It would not be wrong to say that it comes from the deciduous-scrub of western Madagascar.

Oeceoclades roseo-variegata

This is the type species that comes from near Diego Suarez, Montague des Francaise.

Another Oececlades

Got this beautiful form of O. roseovariegata through plant exchange. It is originated from "Berevo", which i presume is a village marker for locality. The cryptic reddish-marbled tesselation is regal. The leaf surface is also rather unusual for an orchid, it seems to be covered with a very fine felt or has minute projections. It is not "hairy". The type species comes from near Diego Suarez, Montague des Francaise; leaf margins is not as undulating in comparison.

The flowers are small, odourless and insignificant. My self pollination attempt was a failure. Given it's locality up in the northern most tip of Madagascar, reckon it should in theory get more rain and therefore can tolerate more water. At this point with only 1 pot, i'm in no hurry to push it for faster growth.

Oeceoclades peyrotti

I went to the 2007 Johor Orchid Show without expectation; but was really lucky and managed to pick up an unexpected gem Oeceoclades peyrotti. The vendor was selling 6 mth old seedlings out of flask. He purchased this flask of new offering while attending some orchid conference or meeting in France or was it somewhere Europe i cannot recall. This newly described species has been around since 1974, recollected again in the 1990s and was growing in collection of jardin des Cedres at St Jean Cap Ferrat in Southern France. Again, it is a species from the dry deciduous forest of southwestern Madagascar. **

As i was able to successfully nurse from 2 to 4 pseudobulbs it has paid back my small investment. Cultivation is not different from the other oeceoclades. Need to dry out between watering. Potting in very coarse free-draining inorganic mix of rocks, lime or charcoal ... basically any coarse filler material, and filling interstitial space with finer sand or humus.

** Contribution à l'étude des Orchidaceae de Madagascar et des Mascareignes. XXXI. Espèces et combinaisons nouvelles dans les genres Oeceoclades, Eulophia et Eulophiella. J. Bosser & P. Morat. Adansonia, Sér. 3 2001. 23(1): 7-22.

Puzzling Oeceoclades Sp

I got this Oeceoclades seedling from Isobyl La Croix when she offered seed-raised orchids for sale at least 5 years ago. The label suggests O. ambongensis which i had assumed to be correct. Only last year did i manage to xerox a copy of the paper titled The Genus Oeceoclades by L. Garay & P. Taylor in Botanical Museum Leaflets Harvard University, Vol. 24, No. 9. It is a taxonomic paper that suggests a need to split Oeceoclades from Eulophia... a note under O. ambongensis = syn E. ambongense caught my eye: "related species of O. maculata alliance". Looking through a couple of available papers.. it appears that my O. ambongensis have more affinities to O. decaryana. I cannot rule out O. ambongensis because i was not able to get hold of the original description of E. ambongense in an old obscure botanical publication!

The amazing find from websearch yields a mini-picture of a herbarium sheet of Eulophidium ambongense

Holotype of Eulophidium ambongense Schltr. Verified by Perrier de la Bâthie, H., 1950

From: West, sandy forest/wood. [Ouest: bois sablonneux], Manongarivo (Ambongo)

The wealth of online material has just help eliminate the O. ambongense possibility. I just have to wait for flowers to confirm if it is O. decaryana or O. aff*. decaryana! [*decaryana has distinctively 5-angular pseudobulbs]

It is definitely a slow grower. Enjoys drying out between watering. Onion-like 1-1.5" succulent pseudobulbs helps it tide-over long drought much better than fellow madagascan euphorbias! In fact, a distinct period of drought triggers formation of new buds for next season's growth.

Pectecilis susannae

This is a very famous orchid. It is found in the monsoon belt of Southeast Asia and into S. China, with a very distinct dry and wet season. The natural habitat is seasonal grasslands, in soil pockets amongst rocks and grass. Rumphius named it after his wife in Flora of Ambon:

in memory of her [Susanna] who when alive, was my first companion and helpmate in looking for herbs and plants, and who was also the first one to show it to me

Currently it is very rare in the wild and equally rare in cultivation. It is rare in cultivation probably because of its very specific growth/dormancy requirements and growers tend to treat it like most other orchids which require year round watering. Like H. lindleyana in the former post, after flowering this species dies down to a tuber resting for couple of months before a new shoot will emerge from the soil. At this point, watering can be resumed. It likes to be grown in sandy clay enriched with high potash & phosphate. The mix must retain moisture and must be well drained. The plant grows vigorously for 3-4 mths before flowering developing a tall stem; the stem should be supported if necessary aovid toppling over resulting in unrecoverable damage to basal stem jointed to the tuber. Watering should be slowly reduce as leaves and flowers dries up to prepare for tuber development and dormancy. Some water should still be given to soften the mix and aid tuber development. Here we go, flowers taken back in Oct this year.

A Perfect Flower

Before i left for a 2 week vacation ago, this orchid was budding and sending out a long inflorescence. It is the largest inflorescence that it ever had. Fortunately, i was able to have a friend who's an expert plant babysitter. Under tender loving care; under bright indirect light, careful watering, voila: the flowers of Habenaria lindleyana!


This is a seasonal terrestial orchid from thailand and maybe found in other neighboring countries of indochina. After flowering, the inflorescence and leaves will slowly yellow and die. Meantime watering should be reduced correspondingly. A underground tuber will form in time and if the plant is vigorous, mature and robust... with luck maybe one can get 1 large or 2 tubers. It is important that a dry rest is given; tubers can remain in the potting mix with a dribble of water weekly or twice a month. Normally, the tuber will wake up and develop a growing tip after about 3 months of dormancy not very differerent from onions left on in the kitchen. The active life cycle starts here... regular watering, feeding and pest control etc. Light regular feeding with higher P, K is important to ensure vigorous and active growth. Interestingly, i find that this habenaria enjoys a sandy clay mix which retains moisture.