flower | In Search

Stelis gelida

March 18, 2020 by ofsmallthings

Stelis gelida is also known as the ‘Frosted Pleurothallis,’ and is widely distributed throughout the Southeastern hemisphere. It also occurs in Cuba and Florida but is considered endangered in Florida, only occurring in the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. According to the North American Orchid Center this species can be found in large colonies of oak, pop ash, pond apple, and maple in cypress sloughs. The flower smells wonderful and is even strongly odorous through an enclosed glass tank. The blooms […]

Categories: Blog, collection • Tags: bloom, flower, gelida, orchid, spike, stellis

Collecting Begonia Seed

January 4, 2020 by ofsmallthings

This article is meant as an introduction to collecting Begonia seed, primarily for those who are new to identifying flower parts and collecting seed. I have only been doing this since early fall, so take this with a grain of salt. One of the purposes here is to combine information from multiple sources into one article. All information pulled directly from external sources is credited. The following information is what I have found to be true in collecting Begonia species […]

Categories: Blog, Cultivation • Tags: bloom, collection, fertile, flower, ovary, pollinate, seed, seeds

Pearcea hypocyrtiflora ‘Green’

December 23, 2019 by ofsmallthings

This is the green form of this Pearcea, not often seen, and it seems to be quite a bit slower and less vigorous than the standard form. I received one very small plant years ago and just this year do I have plants available. I have not yet seen the flower, but suspect it’s the same bulbous orange blooms as the standard type. The leaves can reach 6″ but it often stays around 4-5″ in the terrarium. The foliage is […]

Categories: Blog, Plant Photo Library • Tags: Ecuador, flower, gesneriad, green, hypocyrtiflora, pearcea, South America

Paradrymonia aurea

December 20, 2019 by ofsmallthings

This plant is perhaps my favorite to use in terrariums. It is not particularly showy, but it stays small and compact and is somewhat non-descript ‘green foliage’ that does not look to me, particularly new world, or old world. For that reason, I use it in most of my biotope inspired (biotope+whatever else looks good) vivariums. It is native to Eastern Ecuador and is an IUCN Threatened species. In my experience, it only reaches about 8″ tall and stays compact. […]

Categories: Blog, Plant Photo Library • Tags: aurea, biotope, compact, Ecuador, flower, gesneriad, green, medium, paradrymonia

Begonia metallicolor

December 13, 2019 by ofsmallthings

B. metallicolor is in the Petermannia section, and is native to Padawan, Sarawak, Borneo. It resembles B. nagaensis in the iridescence, but the flowers differ. Like B. darthvaderiana, metallicolor is found in low elevation dipterocarp forest. It is a rather small species, growing to just under 12 inches, but it often stays smaller. The leaves are strongly iridescent and can appear blue, teal, green, and even purple. The plant below seems to be doing well, but also has some sort […]

Categories: Blog, Plant Photo Library • Tags: asia, begonia, Borneo, flower, iridescent, metallic, metallicolor, old world, padawan, sarawak, se asia

Sonerila sp. Purple

July 16, 2019 by ofsmallthings

Another SE Asian species, this one, unfortunately, did not come with more precise locality data. It’s lobed leaves come out very green and very fuzzy, slowly reaching about 4″ in length. I’ve not had it very long so I cannot say for certain this is its mature size. Flowers are magenta and diminutive.

Categories: Blog, Plant Photo Library • Tags: flower, purple, se asia, sonerila

Sonerila sp. Green (Lobe type)

July 11, 2019 by ofsmallthings

This lobe type Sonerila is from Borneo, and so far has only attained a leaf size of about 4″. New leaves come out bright pink and very very slowly grow out into longer lobed leaves. Mine flowered shortly after I received it, but the seed pods were already dry. If anyone has experience with collecting seeds of this species and cares to share their experiences, please post below or contact me.

Categories: Blog, Plant Photo Library • Tags: asia, flower, green, se asia, sonerila

Begonia cathayana ‘white flower’

June 10, 2019 by ofsmallthings

This stunning species hails from China and possesses velvety leaves and a hardy constitution. It looks rather delicate, but in the terrarium at least, has proven to be a vigorous grower with little care. It blooms often. The undersides of the leaves are bright reddish-pink and visible when viewed directly from the front due to the growth habit of the plant. Somewhat versatile in its coloration, taking on red leaf venation in some conditions, and other times with more silvery […]

Categories: Blog, Plant Photo Library • Tags: asia, begonia, cathayana, china, flower, large, white, white flower

Melastome sp. Purple

May 1, 2019 by ofsmallthings

This small Melastome is a wonderfully polite Melastome for the terrarium, only reaching about 12″ tall, with slow-growing, compact rosettes. It can be propagated by taking a cutting containing a few leaves and at least two inches of stem, in sphagnum. I’ve tried taking smaller cuttings, leaf cuttings, putting them in potting soil, and it hasn’t worked at all. While not all that challenging to keep alive, it is a more difficult plant to flower and grow to a mature […]

Categories: Blog, Plant Photo Library • Tags: Ecuador, flower, melastome, purple, small

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