Saturday, July 7, 2012

Ornithocephalus cochleariformis

I purchased this as Ornithocephalus gladiatus which it definitely is not.  I am reasonably certain that I now have the ID correct, however.  The plant is around 10 cm and grows in a tight fan.  The flower spikes come from between the leaves and stand erect above the plant.  They are 7-8 cm long with flowers that are between 5 and 10 mm.  The plant blooms reliably every spring and is one of the few Ornithocephalus that I do not have trouble with, mostly because my conditions are too cool for them.

The name Ornithocephalus means "Bird's Head" and refers to the shape of the column.  There are approximately 20 species in the genus, though there seems to be a great deal of confusion about the different species and I see many plants and photos that are mislabeled.  They are all desirable for the abundance of blooms they produce even though the individual flowers may be very small.  A well grown plant can be completely covered with flowers, usually in white or a combination of white and green.



2 comments:

  1. Imagens maravilhosas, planta lindíssima, obrigado por compartilhar
    abraços

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  2. Thanks again for you great comments. Really appreciate the time and effort you've taken to look at the pictures and add your comments.

    ReplyDelete