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Orchid Gallery

Phragmepedium caudatum

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Phragmepedium caudatum Introduction Vanda coerulea Stanhopea wardii Catasetum pileatum Tolumnia bahamensis Phalaenopsis Taisuco Kochidan Masdevallia ignea Brassia rex Himantoglossium hircinum Laelia purpurata Aerides odorata Spathoglottis plicata Schomburgkia splendida Dendrobium stratiotes Phragmepedium caudatum Coelogyne massangeana
 

This species is a so-called "slipper orchid," a nod to the resemblance of its large, hollow lip to a slipper. The bulbous lip is a useful structure for collecting pollen from visiting bees. Phragmepedium caudatum occurs from Colombia south to Bolivia (though not in Ecuador) and has the unusual characteristic of always opening all six of its blossoms simultaneously when it blooms.

 

     
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