Micro orchid

I found this plant fallen on the ground while walking in the woods on the hill behind the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden last year. I didn´t know what it was, I thought it was some sort of young Araceae. I had a slightly suspecting it was a Pleurotallis, but couldn´t be sure until I see it bloom (what could take years, I have a couple of Pleurotallis since 2000 that has never bloomed). But since it was fallen, I took it, put in my pocket and brought home.

But last week I saw the flower spike, and it was it: an orchid! And blooming! Pleurotallis aren´t supposed to bloom on someone´s porch with lower humidity than the jungle, but it did.

Another shot. The flower is too small, I am not a good photographer enough yet to take a good picture of it.

It has long (hahaha, "long", it´s of the size of an ant :^P), green sepals, and smaller, striped, dark red or purple petals, and a microscopic lip.

I´m addicted to micro orchids. Now I need to get means of how to identify them :^)

This message was edited Feb 5, 2004 8:18 PM

Sorry, sorry. Could someone delete the last post?

The picture is here. I´m messing it up :^P

I'm wondering if you ever took a photo of the opened flowers? I am just recently getting interested in the pleurothallids group and am finding that there is not much information on them. The best online source I have found so far is http://pleurothallids.com.

oh, and that spike looks similar to a picture of an Oncidium waluewa that I've seen. (Well, I suppose many budded spikes look similar!)

Keyring, the problem is, those are opened flowers. The calyx stay closed that way all the time, for a few days untl the flower fades. It´s hard to see all the floral whorls without dissecting the flower under a magnifier.

I saved two flowers in an alcoholic solution and will bring it to an expert to get the name of it (along with a micro Bulbophyllum too). I hope to get it done soon.