# Bulbophyllum trachyanthum



## goods (Mar 25, 2013)

Does anyone here grow this? Rick? Chris?

I have one that I'm growing intermediate, and it's doing fairly well. I'm just trying to figure out a blooming time for this one and how others are growing theirs.

Thanks!


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## Rick (Mar 25, 2013)

http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7602

I don't have trachyanuthum, but still have this tricaniliferum

I almost lost it. Major boom and bust, but its making a slow comeback. I think it usually bloomed about this time of year.


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## goods (Mar 25, 2013)

Rick, that is trachyanthum, I believe. The real tricanaliferum is almost non-existant in cultivation. Here is what it looks like:

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/plants/12062-tis-season-what-have-you-got-blooming-277.html

Any culture info that you have would be appreciated!


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## Rick (Mar 25, 2013)

Maybe, but last time we poked at this, the diagnostic features (which aren't much different than trachyanthum) matched better for tricaniliferum.

Can you remember ?


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## goods (Mar 25, 2013)

I don't remember. Was it on here? I always thought tricanaliferum had the corkscrew sepals.


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## Rick (Mar 25, 2013)

Between the two, I've seen every version under the sun (flower wise) with every caption stating "definitely trachyanyum" or "definitely tricaniliferum" .

It's probably like the blumei/masdevaliacum mess (or the Paph bullenianum mess), with every mountain having its own little twist and quirk. So wish I had the type description/key.

Between Siegerist and ISOPE, the plant habit of trachyanthum is supposed to be a big plant (~ 20cm) with close set red/tan pseudobulbs. Tricaniliferum is a small plant with green angled pseudobulbs with a rambling growth habit (which is what my plant is like. 

So without the original source or key in hand, I'm leaving the present label on mine. 

That one picture of a flower with horns like a wooly mammoth tusks is about the most extreme I've ever seen, so maybe that's actually a whole new species unto itself!?!?!


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## Rick (Mar 25, 2013)

goods said:


> I don't remember. Was it on here? I always thought tricanaliferum had the corkscrew sepals.



I only have one flower in the pic of the 2008 blooming. In its peak, it had over 20 flowers open at one time, and no two had straight petals going in the same direction. Most of the time they tended to twist in the same direction. I used to think this was basically a fault, and never considered it an identifying character since it was never uniform.

But I never had any twist as much as that crazy mammoth tusk flower.


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## goods (Mar 26, 2013)

Hmm...I've done a little digging, and now I'm only more confused than I was before posting 

I agree that I could very well be population variation between mountains and that this is just a big confusing species complex. So far, my plants is small with the green, angled pseudobulbs, but it doesn't seem to ramble at all. The seller from whom I received mine called it trachyanthum but had a photo very similar to yours. 

The mammoth tusk one that I posted is a plant that belongs to Chuck Nishihira who has a large collection of unusual Bulbos. While trying to sort this out, I found mention of a possible third species, Bulb. schmidii, that is reported to have the corkscrew sepals from one source and not in another.

Regardless, your plant is very nice, and I apologize for stirring up taxonomic chaos.


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## Rick (Mar 26, 2013)

goods said:


> Regardless, your plant is very nice, and I apologize for stirring up taxonomic chaos.



I was actually grumpy from lack of sleep and food, but I bought the plant in the first place because I liked the flower pic on Andys site, and could really care less what the name actually was at the time. The flower will be what it is regardless of the name on it, so I really don't have anything more than the $20 invested in the plant at stake. Fortunately I'ts putting on some good looking new growth, so maybe I'll get a bloom out of it soon.:wink:


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## Rick (Mar 26, 2013)

The culure question got lost in the taxonomy BS.

I don't think the plant I have requires anything special/different than the rest of my bulbos.

Initially it was on one of Andy's manzineta mounts, in fairly bright light. It grew excellently for a few years, bloomed like crazy (in fairly short seasons), and then it started burning out.

It got down to just a few crappy 3-5 bulb peieces. I finally strapped what was left to a piece of locust bark, at set it into a cool shady area. Two of the pieces have produced roots, and finally some progressively bigger new growths. A couple of the other fragments completely died.

So I'm pretty happy to have any of it doing well at all right now.


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## Rick (Mar 26, 2013)

goods said:


> The mammoth tusk one that I posted is a plant that belongs to Chuck Nishihira who has a large collection of unusual Bulbos. While trying to sort this out, I found mention of a possible third species, Bulb. schmidii, that is reported to have the corkscrew sepals from one source and not in another.



The confusion runs rampant, even on the same site.

I looked up B schmidii on ISOPE and the first big picture is just like Chuck's flower. Then there are 2 more pics that look like all the other trachy/tricans out there. Then the text says that Garay just named schmidii (1999)but not based on the first flower pictured, but on the something that looks like the 2nd two photos:sob:

Pretty much a typical Bulbo naming cluster#%#^%

Trachy and trican were named in the late 1800/early 1900s Those two names probably describe 90% of the typical variations we see with fairly straight but curvy petals. B schmidii is probably that thing with mamoth tusks since its pretty novel. But what a mess!!


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## goods (Mar 26, 2013)

Wow! I think I paid more than $20 for my measly 3 bulb division. You definitely did well buying from Andy!

Thanks for the culture! Sounds like I'm giving it ok conditions. It's currently putting out a new growth. Hopefully yours bounce back. Do you think the decline could have been the result of degradation of the mount?

That was the first time I'd looked at it on IOSPE. It looks like Dr. Garay classified what I always thought was trachyanthum as schmidii...

You're right, though, the name isn't important since I now have good culture info. I would like to find the "mammoth tusk" one some day.


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## Rick (Mar 26, 2013)

goods said:


> Do you think the decline could have been the result of degradation of the mount?



No, the manzanita is almost nuclear bomb proof. But it is very smooth, and its not hard to scrape a plant off of it it you want too. I'm pretty much blaming this one on high K again. The trican is one of a half dozen bulbos in my collection that went crazy for a few years, and then bust. All mounted, or in basket with very little substrate. I was real scared about loosing my unitubum (paid a lot more than $20 for that one!) It's also making a great come back after getting down to only 2 small growths (from a peak of almost 20 growths). The newest growth is also the biggest I've ever seen for this plant.


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## ChrisFL (Mar 31, 2013)

goods said:


> Does anyone here grow this? Rick? Chris?
> 
> I have one that I'm growing intermediate, and it's doing fairly well. I'm just trying to figure out a blooming time for this one and how others are growing theirs.
> 
> Thanks!



I grow it. It grows at a higher altitude than most Hyalosema supposedly, but I consider that information suspect. I've tried growing it and tricanaliferum both I/C and both did VERY poorly, where cuthbertsonii, etc. were growing great. 80's day, 70-65 at night it does great. It bloomed in the spring but I didn't get to see it.


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## ChrisFL (Mar 31, 2013)

Rick said:


> Maybe, but last time we poked at this, the diagnostic features (which aren't much different than trachyanthum) matched better for tricaniliferum.
> 
> Can you remember ?



Rick, I grow both trachyanthum (the same clone you have, likely) and trachyanthum, the plants are VERY different. Different leaf shape, thickness, color. 

Talking with Wolfgang and reading the german descriptions in translation, I'm sticking with tricanaliferum must have corkscrewing sepals.


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## Rick (Mar 31, 2013)

ChrisFL said:


> Rick, I grow both trachyanthum (the same clone you have, likely) and trachyanthum, the plants are VERY different. Different leaf shape, thickness, color.
> 
> Talking with Wolfgang and reading the german descriptions in translation, I'm sticking with tricanaliferum must have corkscrewing sepals.



I'm kind of confused by your first sentence.

Also with regard to "corkscrewing" is that to the extent of the recently discovered B schmidii, (Described by Garay)? Or is this based on the Rolfe 1919 type description? Actually ISOPE for B schmidii has two sets of pics that are both listed as B. schmidii. One with crazy corkscrew "mammoth tusk" petals, and one that has hardly any curve at all that looks just like any other trican or trachy. 

Maybe this might help. The species name tricaniliferum refers to 3 groves. Do you know what/where the 3 grooves are? If it is a micro detail on the lip, I don't have any good photos to get that kind of resolution.

But as far as husbandry of whatever I have is. It doesn't have a problem with I/W. Before it went into decline it grew like crazy, but on the shady side of the mount. So maybe avoiding bright light. The pieces I have are making a slow comeback in a fairly shady spot, but not cool.


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## goods (Apr 3, 2013)

ChrisFL said:


> I grow it. It grows at a higher altitude than most Hyalosema supposedly, but I consider that information suspect. I've tried growing it and tricanaliferum both I/C and both did VERY poorly, where cuthbertsonii, etc. were growing great. 80's day, 70-65 at night it does great. It bloomed in the spring but I didn't get to see it.



Thanks Chris! I feel better now with the placement of mine. I knew you were trying these in the cool tank at one point, and I'd "retired" my fridge for the school year...too much of a pain to move it back and forth. 

Any idea on what blooming size is? Mine's probably 5-6 mature bulbs with at least one new lead. 



ChrisFL said:


> Rick, I grow both trachyanthum (the same clone you have, likely) and trachyanthum, the plants are VERY different. Different leaf shape, thickness, color.
> 
> Talking with Wolfgang and reading the german descriptions in translation, I'm sticking with tricanaliferum must have corkscrewing sepals.



Rick, I think Chris was saying that he grows the trachyanthum like you posted pictures and the corkscrewing "trachyanthum" "tricanaliferum" thing.


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