Stanhopea tigrina

[tomp]

And now for something different. Sorry for the poor quality photo but they are not easy photograph.

 

[Djthomp28]

This genus is fascinating to me. Lovely tigrina.

 

[GuRu]

Tom, the shape of flowers of this genus is fascinating at one hand and slightly confusing at the other hand and therefore taking good photos isn't that easy. And I think the scent fills your greenhouse. Always a feast for the eyes to see this species which has been fascinating me from the beginning of my orchid 'addiction'. Lovely one

 

[tomp]

Tom, the shape of flowers of this genus is fascinating at one hand and slightly confusing at the other hand and therefore taking good photos isn't that easy. And I think the scent fills your greenhouse. Always a feast for the eyes to see this species which has been fascinating me from the beginning of my orchid 'addiction'. Lovely one

Yes the fragrance is wonderfully powerful. I was taking one somewhere once and my wife suggested leaving it alongside the road.
The flower parts are quite a mystery. Reminds me of a squid or some other sort of deep sea creature.
A fun fact: The buds keep swelling and then make quite an audible “pop“when they open. More than once they popped as I was walking by.
Ain’t nature grand!

 

[big923cattleya]

Working from point of attachment going forward, you have three sepals. These are generally larger segments. They are splayed out and are generally not of intense substance.
Then you have two petals. Generally they are reflexed back towards the point of flower attachment. They too are generally not of heavy substance. They are often quite a bit smaller then the sepals.
Then you have the three parted lip featuring the mesochile, hypochile and epichile. The epichile is the part of the flower furthest out from the point of attachment of the flowers.
These flowers are short lived, only 2-3 days in perfection. They are intensely fragrant!! Often the fragrance has evolved to attract the male bee of a particular member of the genus Euglossium. Collectively Euglossium bees.
The male comes along and lands on the epichile. He walks up the epichile often guided or helped along by horns. The horns and epichile are made with a heavy substance. He then passes the slimmer hypochile. It too is waxy, often of deeper color then the sepals and petals. His goal is the mesochile which is where the intoxicating fragrance is held. He is directed inside gathering the fragrance on his body. As he departs and heads out, he goes past the pollinia, the pollen sacs. Those are attached to his body as he flies away.
But it is so confusing to look at a Stanhopea flower. I am always looking, poking, trying to see if I have the parts straight in my mind. For that reason, they are difficult to describe when writing award descriptions. Is this part what I think it is?? !!!
But they are incredibly beautiful and complex. They look so different from a Phalaenopsis or a Vanda.
The mesochile is often the most intensely colored part of the flower. The epichile always has ‘horns’ as part of its structure. Some horns are quite large, others fairly minuscule. This adds to the mystique! One species is told from another by the lips.

After I wrote this, I read it over a few times, just hoping I had it right. I am not 100% sure. I think I am correct.

 

[tomp]

Working from point of attachment going forward, you have three sepals. These are generally larger segments. They are splayed out and are generally not of intense substance.
Then you have two petals. Generally they are reflexed back towards the point of flower attachment. They too are generally not of heavy substance. They are often quite a bit smaller then the sepals.
Then you have the three parted lip featuring the mesochile, hypochile and epichile. The epichile is the part of the flower furthest out from the point of attachment of the flowers.
These flowers are short lived, only 2-3 days in perfection. They are intensely fragrant!! Often the fragrance has evolved to attract the male bee of a particular member of the genus Euglossium. Collectively Euglossium bees.
The male comes along and lands on the epichile. He walks up the epichile often guided or helped along by horns. The horns and epichile are made with a heavy substance. He then passes the slimmer hypochile. It too is waxy, often of deeper color then the sepals and petals. His goal is the mesochile which is where the intoxicating fragrance is held. He is directed inside gathering the fragrance on his body. As he departs and heads out, he goes past the pollinia, the pollen sacs. Those are attached to his body as he flies away.
But it is so confusing to look at a Stanhopea flower. I am always looking, poking, trying to see if I have the parts straight in my mind. For that reason, they are difficult to describe when writing award descriptions. Is this part what I think it is?? !!!
But they are incredibly beautiful and complex. They look so different from a Phalaenopsis or a Vanda.
The mesochile is often the most intensely colored part of the flower. The epichile always has ‘horns’ as part of its structure. Some horns are quite large, others fairly minuscule. This adds to the mystique! One species is told from another by the lips.

After I wrote this, I read it over a few times, just hoping I had it right. I am not 100% sure. I think I am correct.

Thanks,
Your description of the lip parts is very helpful. I will put it in my notebook for the next one that comes to the table.

 

[big923cattleya]

You are welcome.
I just wish that those incredible flowers would last a little longer.
For pure size and structure, I love Stanhopeas! But check out Coryanthes sp. if you get a chance. They are known as the “bucket orchids”. They just might be even cooler flowers!