Mystacidium aliceae

 

Mystacidium aliceae is from South Africa (Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal) and only a few localities are know (la Croix and la Croix 1998).  It grows on twigs in coastal forests up to 500m (Stewart et al. 2006).  They are in deep shade in forest and scrub and often near a river (la Croix and la Croix 1998).  It is one of the smallest species in the genus.  Flowers are off-white with a touch of yellow, and they are tiny.  Under magnification, you can see the flower is a little translucent and crystal-like.

It is somewhat similar to M. flagananii (see this post), but the inflorescences of M. aliceae are much shorter than the leaves while the inflorescences of M. flagananii are quite a bit longer than leaves (Wodrich 1997).

My plant is from Afri Orchids. I got this plant in 2018 (2 years ago), and there is one original leaf left, which is much bigger than the newer leaves.  So it is probably still recovering from the import, and it might become bigger.  Wodrich (1997) mentions that it is difficult to transplant, so it shouldn't be disturbed as little as possible.  Wodrich (1997) recommends to grow it under low light, 70-80% shade with warm temperature and  reduce watering in the winter.  I am growing it at PPFD of 60 µmol m^-2 s^-1. I was growing it in at the cool-end of intermediate temperature; the max/min daily temperature is 29/18C (84/65F) in the summer and 21/13C (70/55F) in the winter.  But I'm going to move it to warmer area.

Photos are from July 14, 2020.

Literature Cited:

• la Croix, I. and E. la Croix. 1997. African Orchids in the Wild and in Cultivation.  Timber Press, Portland, Oregon (p. 255).
• Stewart, J., J. Hermans, B. Campbell.  2006. Angraecoid Orchids - Species from the African Region. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon (p. 342)
• Wodrich, K. H. K. 1997. Growing South African Indigenous Orchids. CRC Press. (p. 134-135).