Orchid Borealis

Mystacidium venosum is from South Africa ( Eastern Cape ,  KwaZulu-Natal ,  Mpumalanga ,  Limpopo ),  Eswatini  (=Swaziland) and Mozambique (la Croix and la Croix 1998, Stewart et al. 2006).  The habitat could vary, including woodland, riverine bush, coastal and montane forests. In nature, this species flowers in winter time (April to July of Southern hemisphere in Stewart et al. 2006 and April to October in Wodrich 1997).  la Croix and la Croix (1997) mentioned that it bloomed in autumn and early winter (October and November) in their greenhouse.  The photos in this post were taken on March 9, 2017, but it was within 1 year after importation from Afri Orchids of South Africa, so it was still in Southern hemisphere time.  Subsequently, it started to flower in fall (late September).  It was making better displays, but I didn't take photos, and the plant unfortunately died in 2020. M. venosum and M. capense have the longest spur (>...

  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 r...

  Mystacidium flanaganii  is from South Africa ( Eastern Cape , KwaZulu-Natal , Mpumalanga , eastern part of Limpopo ) and  Eswatini (=Swaziland) (la Croix and la Croix 1998). They grow on twigs of yellow-wood trees in  coastal scrub forests (Wodrich 1997).  The flowers are small (the spur is 2-3cm), but the bright green color is beautiful. It is similar to M. pusillum , but the flowering time is different; M. flanaganii flowers in the summer while  M. pusillum flowers in the winter (Stewart et al. 2006).   M. pusillum is generall smaller than M. flanaganii (Stewart et al. 2006).  It is also similar to M. aliceae , but the inflorescences of M. aliceae are much shorter than the leaves (Wodrich 1997).  The inflorescences of  M. flagananii are quite a bit longer than leaves. My plant is from Afri Orchids . Wodrich (1997) recommends to grow it under 60-80% shade with cool to intermediate temperature and to give 2 months of dry winter ...

  This species has a limited geographic distribution and is known only from the Soutspansberg Mountains in Limpopo Province of South Africa (Stewart et al 2006).  It grows on fig trees ( Ficus spp.) in shady forests (la Croix & la Croix 1997).  It is a compact plant, but it sends out lots of fat roots.  Mine is still young and produced only 2 inflorescences, but it can produce an amazing amount of flowers for such a small plant. I purchased mine from Afri Orchids .  Wodrock recommend intermediate to warm temperature an moderately dry winter resting period (water every two weeks for 4 months).  My culture isn't like that, and I'm 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.  I water every other day in the summer and every 4-5 days in the winter.  It seems to be doing well, but I'll see if more severe dry winter is beneficial. Stewa...