Flower Friday - Orchids

Now I'm not sure if it's just because Phalaenopsis are so common, but I tend to prefer just about every other genus of orchid.  My favourite at the moment seems to be Paphiopedilum.  They are said to be a much more primitive orchid as referenced by the flower anatomy and colouration.  I think my interest stems from the variation of colours, textures and patters in a single flower.  I believe the first flowers below are Cymbidium, and the second photos are of one of my favourite Paphs.

Flowering Friday

Flower Friday is not like "Wordless Wednesday".  Well it kind of is because both words have the same letter but isn't because it's just the post name and not a weekly thing.  It's also kind of a lie because these pictures were taken earlier in the week.  So although I like the post title I've kind of ripped it to shreds so in retrospect maybe I should have just chosen a different one.  Then again how can it be retrospect if I'm typing this now and haven't finalized the title?  Alright, so on to the actual content!

This first flower is Dietes vegeta.  It's simple gorgeous.  I think the common name is African Iris.  You can see that it's a few days past it's prime and has started to curl up.  That being said, the delicate appearance and muted colourful markings make this flower really lovely.  The curled petals almost add to the appeal.

The next flower up is a yellow Hibiscus.  Although there is nothing particularly interesting with the colouration, I find the deep texture of the petals to be surprising.  I've never seen one of these flowers look so ruffled.  I'm wondering if maybe is just opened before I got there and didn't have the time to smooth out.

This striking yellow/orange/red flower is from an Aphelandra aurantiaca.  All of the Aphelandra we have growing are about the height of just this flower.  You can see in the picture that the plant is pretty much a stick with six leaves.  They should grow up to about 50cm so this is odd.  The plants often seem to be struggling to survive and die after flowering.  I think they may be sensitive to root rot and the soil just holds too much moisture.

This little flower is Neomaric northiana and reminds me of the African Iris mentioned previously.  Unfortunately the picture didn't turn out very well.  I really like how the pristine white contrasts with the detailed patterning and colours at the centre.  I do however think it needs to get new foliage.  I mean don't get me wrong - the leaves are nice and so are the flowers.  Unfortunately they don't go together.  So I am making the executive decision that we need to bio-engineer two new varieties.  One with different foliage and the other with a different flower.  Now we just have to do it.  Ok 1 - 2 - 3 - and...  I don't get it.  Nothing happened...

Now I'll get to the first of two orchids with this Laelia hybrid.  The plant is located in the Tropical Room and was unfortunately too high for me to get a good picture of.  I've never seen this one flower before.  It's simple and purple.  Nice but not showstopping.  Otherwise I would have gotten a ladder.

This Paphiopedilum is one of my favourite orchids.  It reminds me of something out of Tim Burton's new "Alice in Wonderland".  Now I actually haven't seen the movie but I've seen a tonne of previews.  It looks whimsical and almost like it was the product of a committee and everyone got what they wanted (and it actually worked out).  The top petal (Dorsal sepal) is relatively simple with clean green lines.  The side petals (or is it Lateral sepal?) add a bit of frilly curvature with a colour gradient and sprinkling of dots.  The Labellum looks like it was stolen from a pitcher plant.  Apparently this is from a more 'primitive' branch of the orchid family.

That's it!  I hope you enjoyed the blooms!

Paphiopedilum Flowers (Very Interesting)!

I've now finished three (Landfill Design, Business for Engineers, Structural Dynamics) of my five exams with another one today (Risk Analysis).  This course is really heavy into statistics.  Stats is one thing I always seem to have trouble with.  Hopefully I'll make it through alive but here is an elegant Paphiopedilum in case I don't.  It looks like something from the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland!

Paphiopedilum (Orchid)

I really like this orchid.  It has yet to flower but is getting really close.  Even just the foliage and buds look great!  I'll update as soon as it blooms.

Beautiful Orchid (Paphiopedilum insigne)

So now for my fourth post of the day...  Many of the greenhouse orchids have started to bloom.  I've noticed a bud on this one for several days.  It was a really short time from the first appearance of the bud until the first bloom.  I think this is because there is only one flower as opposed to the dozens that other varieties can have (Cymbidium seem to take a really long time).  This is actually the species that is shown on the UWO Greenhouses website.  It's one of the few yellow/green varieties that I have seen and has a bit on white at the top with dark speckling on the interior.  I hope you enjoy it and there will be more orchid pictures to come!