This handsome, but unpleasant smelling flower is one of the largest of the Bulbophyllum species of orchids. It has a moveable warty lip. The lip on an orchid is a modified petal that is attractive to pollinators. The lip of the B. echinolabium has a spiny texture and the color resembles raw or rotten meat. The smell of the flower has been described as a stink bomb, a decomposing rat, and just plain appalling. The fragrance, texture, and color are designed to fool carrion flies into believing that the flower is a piece of rotting meat.

The drooping flowers have six narrow, greenish-yellow petals and yield a highly fragrant essential oil which is used in perfumes, soaps, and for aromatherapy. The wood is also used locally for rope, construction, and sometimes as fuelwood. Interestingly, the Ylang-ylang is used by the food industry as a peach or apricot flavoring. The flowers are not only used for their beautiful scent but also for lowering blood pressure, reducing fever, and relieving tension. The flower is spread on the bed of newlywed couples in Indonesia and is often worn by women in the Philippines. Ylang-ylang grows in full or partial sun and prefers the acidic soils of its native rainforest habitat.

The orchid genus Coelogyne is comprised of about 200 species, commonly called Necklace Orchids because of their long pendant like inflorescence. Most of the species are relatively easy to grow and produce long-lasting fragrant flowers. In their winter dormant season, they can go weeks without water. They often have elaborately marked lips to attract pollinators, which include bees, wasps, and beetles. You can find our numerous Coelogyne orchids displayed in the Potted Plants Gallery.

Dendrobium antennatum, the orchid equipped with antennae! The characteristic petals of this orchid resemble antennae or, like the name suggests, the twisted horned of some antelope species. Unsurprisingly it belongs to the enormous genus Dendrobium, which is home to many unique and peculiar orchids. This species in particular grows happily from sea level up to 3000 feet of elevation on the branches and trunks of trees. Its flower spike produces approximately 15 flowers and stays in bloom for nearly two months. The flowers also carry a slightly sweet fragrance.

Dendrochilum has about 346 scientific plant names associated with it, but only 271 of those names are accepted. One reason for this discrepancy is that after a plant was named and categorized it was later discovered to be a synonym of another more established plant because of new information or new data. This is a process that has troubled taxonomists for centuries, but with new ways of testing plants genetics and the ease of access to data these problems will be less frequent.

The genus is known for their pendant-like inflorescences, or clusters of flowers, that hand down in two long rows up to 50 cm long. Some visitors find the distinct fragrance of the miniature, star-shaped flowers pleasant, others a bit strong and musty. Dendrochilum species grow at higher elevations in the humid rainforests of Taiwan, Indo-China and throughout the West Pacific Islands including New Guinea, Borneo, and Java.

Lasimorpha senegalensis is a very large aquatic plant from west Africa, found in swamps, ponds, and other areas with slow moving water. Beneath the water’s surface, this plant grows quite vigorously by lateral shoots, or rhizomes. Its flowers rise singularly from its base and smell of decomposing fruit. L. senegalensis’s stems, or petioles, are angular and thorned with arrow-shaped leaves. These leaves are known to have been used as a vegetable and as a medicine during childbirth. Its rhizome has also been used medicinally to treat ulcers and, as a decoction, for nervousness and pain.

Stangeria eriopus is an amazing Cycad that can easily be mistaken for a fern. Its large divided leaves rise from a hairy stem that gave the plant its name eriopus, or “wooly footed.”  It grows in coastal grasslands and inland forests. In traditional medicine, this plant is used as a purgative and cure for headaches by the Zulu and Xhosa peoples. S. eriopus is classified as vulnerable and is the only species within its Genus. The Conservatory of Flowers is fortunate to have two specimens, one male and female, that might one day “get together.”

This giant terrestrial bromeliad can be found growing on inselbergs (isolated rock outcrops) in southeastern Brazil. The genus is named after the last emperor of Brazil, Don Pedro II de Alcantara and the specific name is Latin for imperial. It takes between 8-20 years to flower and will flower for up to 12 months. This species plays an important ecological role as it stores rainwater in the pockets created by its leaves, offering a home to frogs, insects, and even other small aquatic plants. Alcantarea imperialis is becoming increasingly threatened in the wild due to habitat loss, which in turn affects the creatures that are dependent on the plant.

The fanged pitcher plant is named such because of the ‘walrus-tooth-like prickles’ that protrude from the pitcher. The meaning of the specific epitaph also eludes to this unique characteristic, Latin ‘bi’ means two and ‘calcaratus’ means spurred. The plant has a symbiotic relationship with a species of ant called, Camponotus schmitzi. The plant has adaptations that provide the ant colony with food or shelter. In exchange, ants aid the plant in pollination, seed
dispersal, defense, or the gathering of essential nutrients. N. bicalcarata is ranked as vulnerable according to the IUCN Red List.

The orchid’s name, Acineta superba, is derived from the Greek word akinetos which means immobile and refers to the flower’s rigid lip. Acinetas are epiphytes and grow on other plants, rather than in the soil on the forest floor.  Acineta orchids thrive in the wet montane forests at elevations of 800 to 1950 meters.

Acineta superba flowers are pollinated by male Euplusia concava bees. It’s thought that a distinct blend of fragrance chemicals is produced by each Acineta species. The unique odor and distinct shape of the flower attracts only a single type of pollinator, thus ensuring the bee will exclusively visit flowers of that species. Fragrance production consumes energy, so some orchids are only fragrant when their pollinators are most active.

The Anguloa orchid is commonly known as a tulip orchid because of the way the leaves resemble tulip leaves when they emerge from the forest floor.  The flower’s waxy petals and sepals form a cup that partially encloses the lip and column, which contains the reproductive organs. The lip acts as a landing pad for the pollinator and it rocks when landed on. This motion helps remove pollen from the flower and attaches it to the bee. The bee is attracted to the strong cinnamon scent of the flower.

This Anthurium inflorescence is called a spadix and is framed by a red, orange, white, or green spathe, which looks like a leaf or petal. The spadix holds dozens of microscopic female and male flowers. In order to avoid self-pollination, these flowers are active at different times. By avoiding self-pollination Anthuriums’ can increase genetic diversity, increase disease resistance, and increase their offspring’s ability to adapt to change. When Anthurium flowers are pollinated, the spadix fills with round, berry-like fruit. The berries might look sweet but, Anthuriums’ contain calcium oxalate crystals which are highly poisonous if ingested.

Bulbophyllum sulawesi is an orchid species named after its native island of Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago. Its flowers are unpleasantly fragrant, typically dark red with elongated sepals.

B. sulawesi grows in the nooks of tree branches and on trunks, where it can collect moisture with its roots. Its preferred habitat is between 4000 and 5000 feet of elevation in mountainous forests. The plant itself is made of bulb-like structures, each with a single leaf, making it a unifoliate orchid. It can prudence up to 6 flower spikes, each with up to 10 flowers per spike.

One might assume that the name is a reference to, Count Dracula, but in Latin, Dracula literally means ‘little dragon’. When fully open, the flower resembles a dragon’s face. The genus was founded in 1978 by Carlyle Luer and about 118 species have been described as of today. Living in the cloud forest of the tropics between 300 and 2800 meters in elevation, Dracula orchids are a remarkable example of mimicry. Mimicry is an adaptation that allows an organism to look like another plant, animal, or in this case, a fungus. Dracula flowers use visual cues in their patterned calyx, a showy labellum and smelly chemical signals to mimic mushrooms and attract mushroom-associated flies.

In our vey own Highlands Gallery you can experience these beautiful beings smiling down at you from our hanging vines, the horticulturalists cleverly named, Vlad the Vine and Elvira the Vine.

Hedychium horsfieldii lives as a forest epiphyte on Mount Prahu in Jawa. It is vulnerable according to the IUCN Red List and is currently being threatened by housing development and logging. Hedychium horsfieldii has bright green foliage that compliments its greenish-white flowers that have a very strong scent. They have some Micky Mouse-ear shaped staminodes that pop out at the top of the flowers. Although these features are stunning, the main reason people grow these plants is for their stunning orange seed pods. Amazingly, the flowers are able to pollinate themselves even before the flowers open.

Masdevallia is a genus of 350 cool growing orchid species. They are best known for their unusual triangle-shaped flowers made up of sepals fused into a tube-like structure. Though the flower shape is similar from plant to plant, the difference in size and color is wide and wonderful.  Masdevallias have a wide variety of diverse scents, colors, and textures that relate to the small fruit flies that pollinate them. Scents range from rotting gorgonzola to a ripe peach or apple.

This beautiful little orchid is easily distinguishable by its hairy, pouch-like flower. Their appearance might remind the viewer of a baleen whale feeding in the ocean. Both its lip and lower “pouch” grow a colorful array of thick hair that looks like baleen.  Pleurothallis cypripedioides is a miniature orchid that can be found growing on trees, holding on with its roots as they collect dripping water. It grows at elevations between 1100 and 3600 feet in hot to warm tropical forests. This orchid crawls and spreads by its main stem and has leaves that stay approximately an inch and a half in length. Additionally, many botanists liken this tiny orchid to Cypripedium, or lady slipper orchids, which would explain the species name cypripedioides.

The large fragrant flowers of Sobralia orchids have beautiful multi-colored lips. The striking blooms appear sequentially on the inflorescence and range widely in color from purple to pink, yellow, and white. The flowers vary greatly in size ranging from 2 to 10 inches wide, but all are very short-lived and last either only a day or a week at most. The plants have lance-shaped leaves arranged along a reed-like stem and some species can grow 44 feet high.

While commonly known as the white ginger lily, Hedychium coronarium is not a lily but is actually in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. Hedychium coronarium is native to the Eastern Himalayas where it grows from rhizomes and requires heat and humidity. The fragrant white flowers resemble butterflies and are the national flower of Cuba, where is it referred to as mariposa due to the shape of the flowers. It is said that during Spanish colonial times, women used to carry secret messages inside the flowers during to aid in Cuba’s independence.

The common name, chenille, means caterpillar in French. The fuzzy, pendulous inflorescence of the chenille plant range in color from vibrant red to a creamy white. The chenille plant is dioecious, meaning the male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers are on separate plants. The individual flowers which make up the inflorescence are very tiny, have no petals, and are made up of feathery pistils. These pistils are tightly packed into cylindrical flower clusters along the raceme called catkins. Flowers with catkins, including the chenille, are predominantly pollinated by the wind, and occasionally by insects.

This palm varies from a red crown shaft with maroon leaves, to an orange version with green leaves, and everything in between. It has been observed that there is substantial color variation depending on elevation, with the more colorful plants coming from higher elevations. It is also commonly known as ‘pinang yaki’ or monkey pinang to native Indonesians, possibly because the Sulawesi crested macaque frequent this palm to enjoy the sweet ripe fruit. This photo shows the three stages of the palm’s fruit – the yellow inflorescence emerging, the full-sized but unripe yellow fruit, and the ripe red fruit.

Coffea arabica contributes to around 71% of the world’s coffee. Coffea canephora is the next largest commercially grown species of coffee. Coffea arabica is said to produce better tasting coffee because the lower caffeine content makes it less bitter. Today, it is Endangered under the IUCN Red List. Climate change, deforestation, genetic erosion, pests and diseases are all contributing factors to why this species is declining in the wild. Increasing wild genetic diversity is critical for coffee growers, as it can help in developing strains of coffee that are resistant to disease, pests, or drought.

Scientists have determined a number of ways coffee plants use caffeine to their benefit. When leaves die and decompose on the ground they contaminate the soil with caffeine which makes it difficult for other plants to grow. Coffee plants also use caffeine to deter insects from eating their young leaves and beans. With the high doses of caffeine contained in these plant parts, a bite can be fatal to insects. But the nectar contained in coffee flowers is laced with a small dose of caffeine.

Crescentia cujete, more commonly known as the calabash tree, has been cultivated throughout tropical Central and South America since ancient times. The light green bell-shaped flowers grow directly on the trunk and branches and are pollinated by bats. The fruit is a poisonous berry that is widely utilized to make bowls, jugs, utensils, and musical instruments. The fruit nectaries attract stinging ants which help defend the plant against goats and other herbivores. Crescentia cujete has a variety of medicinal properties from treating toothaches, diarrhea, pneumonia, and lung diseases.

Heliconia is a genus of tropical flowering plants. The majority of Heliconia species are native to tropical Central and South America. Heliconia species support a diversity of ecological relationships with various organisms. Hummingbirds are the principal pollinators of Heliconias in the Americas. The flowers produce an abundance of nectar and the color, shape, and curve of the flowers are adapted to specific hummingbird species. Several species of Heliconia open their flowers at night to attract nectar-eating bats for pollination. Additionally, multiple species of bats use the leaves and foliage to construct habitats and shelters. Heliconia species with upright bracts are known to collect rainwater and support a community of minute, aquatic fauna.

Heliconias thrive in tropical conditions and habitats that have an abundance of water, sunlight, and rich soil. The inflorescence, or cluster of flowers, are quite distinctive and range in colorful hues of red, orange, yellow, and green. The inflorescence consists of brightly colored, waxy bracts (specialized leaves at the base of flowers) arranged alternately on the stem that encloses and protect small flowers. Heliconias used to be included in the banana family but was relocated because of how different the flowers look.

The Musa genus is primarily known for being the source of bananas and plantains. Considered the fourth most important crop in the world, many cultures expand on the use of Musa plants for things like medicine, fibers, dyes, fuel, cordage, wrapping materials, and even steam for cooking.

Banana or Plantain?

Bananas and plantains are considered the same fruit botanically. However, they differ in genome which lead to the different classifications between cooking bananas, plantains, and dessert bananas. Plantains are larger and starchier than bananas.

Pachira aquatica is cultivated in Asia for its edible nuts, which grow in a large, woody pod and taste like chestnuts. The common name, money tree, refers to a story of its origin. A poor man once prayed for money and one day on walk he found this “odd” plant, took it home as an omen and made money selling plants grown from its seeds. Small trees can be found in nurseries with braided trunks. Braiding contains the tree’s sprawl and symbolizes locking in luck or money. This tropical wetland tree is native to the forests in regions of Mexico to South America.

Theobroma cacao is famous all over the world for producing chocolate. The genus Theobroma means ‘food for the gods’ in Latin and the species name comes from the Aztec word ‘xocolatl’ meaning bitter water. Edible properties of cacao were discovered by Central Americans over 2000 years ago. The Mayans and the Aztecs are known to have used it in religious and marriage ceremonies. Now widely grown across the equator, almost two-thirds of the world’s cocoa comes from Western Africa.

The flowers are tiny yellowish white to pale pink and bloom all year off of the trunk of this tree. In the wild only 5% of the flowers will mature into seed pods because of lack of pollination. The cocoa pods are about 15 to 25 cm long and are not only used to make chocolate but are also used medicinally to stimulate the nervous system, lower blood pressure, repair damaged skin, treat anemia or as a heart and kidney tonic.

This Anthurium inflorescence is called a spadix and is framed by a red, orange, white, or green spathe, which looks like a leaf or petal. The spadix holds dozens of microscopic female and male flowers. In order to avoid self-pollination, these flowers are active at different times. By avoiding self-pollination Anthuriums’ can increase genetic diversity, increase disease resistance, and increase their offspring’s ability to adapt to change. When Anthurium flowers are pollinated, the spadix fills with round, berry-like fruit. The berries might look sweet but, Anthuriums’ contain calcium oxalate crystals which are highly poisonous if ingested.

This handsome, but unpleasant smelling flower is one of the largest of the Bulbophyllum species of orchids. It has a moveable warty lip. The lip on an orchid is a modified petal that is attractive to pollinators. The lip of the B. echinolabium has a spiny texture and the color resembles raw or rotten meat. The smell of the flower has been described as a stink bomb, a decomposing rat, and just plain appalling. The fragrance, texture, and color are designed to fool carrion flies into believing that the flower is a piece of rotting meat.

Bright orange cones of blooms emerge from the upright inflorescence. Dozens of individual flowers open successively over a period of two weeks. The plant also has handsome deep green leaves and dark red stems. Burbidgea is a genus of plants in the ginger family (Zingerbaraceae) with five known species that are all endemic to Borneo. Burbidgea schizocheila is considered vulnerable according to the IUCN Red List due to extensive habitat loss. Extensive logging of Boreno’s forest for palm oil plantations have made humans the main reason for their decline. 

Cattleya is a premier flower in the floral industry and are used by orchid enthusiasts to create hybrids (often with Laelia orchids) and prize plants. Their large, showy flowers often have a pleasant sweet or citrusy fragrance. They are often used for prom or weddings in corsages which gives them their common name, Corsage Orchids. An interesting adaptation of Cattleya orchids is that some have a pseudobulb attached to every leaf to store water and nutrients, which are used in the dry season. In the wet season, new leaves grow twice as fast. Many species grow in the trees so they don’t get water from the soil and instead depend on humid air.

The orchid genus Coelogyne is comprised of about 200 species, commonly called Necklace Orchids because of their long pendant like inflorescence. Most of the species are relatively easy to grow and produce long-lasting fragrant flowers. In their winter dormant season, they can go weeks without water. They often have elaborately marked lips to attract pollinators, which include bees, wasps, and beetles. You can find our numerous Coelogyne orchids displayed in the Potted Plants Gallery.

Cymbidium are noteworthy because of their standard and miniature sizes with approximately 55 natural species, 16 natural hybrids, and thousands of hybrids exist. They bloom in the winter with over a dozen flowers ranging from white, pink, red, orange, or even black. Many of the showier hybrids have large striped petals and sepals and a ruffled lip of a contrasting color. Cymbidiums are popular in the florist trade for corsages and floral design.

This ancient looking orchid appears almost like the hardened shell of a crab’s claw. Eulophia petersii is a terrestrial, desert-dwelling orchid that grows well in shallow, sandy soil, anywhere from sea level to 4500 ft elevation. Like many orchid species, it has a pseudobulb that holds and supplies the plant with water. Unlike other species, this orchid is well adapted to dryer environments and appears much more dense and succulent-like. Its flower spikes can reach an impressive 8 ft tall and can stay in bloom for nearly two months. Indigenous medicines have used Eulophia species as remedies for gastrointestinal and skin disorders.

Plants in the Globba genus are commonly known as the dancing lady ginger due to their yellow flowers that dangle and dance in the wind. This dance is likely performed to attract the plant’s pollinators. The purple petal-like structures are called bracts. Bracts are modified leaves that protect the flowers as they emerge and may also attract pollinators by providing a colorful backdrop for the flowers. A greatly elongated, arched stamen contains the plant’s pollen. Notice that the flowers are symmetrical when divided in half, much like a face or an orchid flower. Globbas are members of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and like all gingers, they grow from creeping rhizomes that form clumps underground.

Ixora coccinea, commonly known as scarlet jungle flame, is native to Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. It has been introduced to other tropical regions around the world and today is widely grown as a popular ornamental shrub. Ixora coccinea is a dense multi-branching evergreen shrub that is notable for its brightly colored blooms. The scarlet, tubular flowers grow in dense rounded clusters and can bloom year-round in the right conditions. Ixora coccinea is a member of the Rubiaceae family and is a showy relative of coffee. The genus name Ixora is a Portuguese translation of Isvara meaning ‘lord’ in Sanskrit and is a reference to the god Siva. The species name coccinea translates to scarlet and is a reference to the blooms.

Laelia orchids are stunning with blooms in a wide range of color from bold pinks and purples to bright yellows and greens. Laelias are found in forests from sea level to mountain habitats across Mexico down to tropical America.

The Laelia genus is a great example of taxonomic work in progress. Laelia was formerly a large genus of orchids from Mexico to Brazil. With new DNA evidence and modern research, the Laelia and Cattleya genera have been rearranged to better reflect their evolutionary history.

This orchid is known for its wonderful fragrance reminiscent of coconuts and pina coladas. The flower’s rust-colored sepals surround a spotted rust and white lip. The grass-like foliage makes an attractive houseplant even when not in flower. This genus derives its name from the Latin word maxilla which means jawbone. The lip of the flower looks like an arched tongue. The result is a blossom that slightly resembles a jawbone.

Plants in the genus Phragmipedium is named after their shoe shaped pouches and are native to regions of Mexico to Southern Tropical America. The pouch is a modified petal, also called a lip. The pouch traps insects, which are forced to escape through a backdoor exit, depositing pollen as they squeeze out, thus pollinating the flower. A distinct trait of “Phrags” is that their flowers bloom sequentially, one after another. Each bloom lasts about two weeks; meanwhile, another bud is developing. The entire flowering season can last from six to eleven months. Depending on the species, the colors can range from green, to a soft mahogany-pink, to a dazzling orange-red.

Sarracenia is a genus comprising of about 11 species, all pitcher plants that are native to Northern American. Similar to the more famous Venus flytrap, these plants are carnivorous. But unlike the fly trap, which moves to trap its prey, the Sarracenia has a passive trap. The plant’s leaves have evolved into a funnel-shaped pitcher. Insects are attracted by a nectar-like secretion on the lip of pitcher, as well as a combination of color and scent. Slippery footing at the pitchers’ rim causes the insect to fall in. Once inside, tiny downward-facing hairs make it nearly impossible for an insect to crawl back out, and liquids at the bottom of the pitcher make tiny wings too wet to fly.

Sarracenia are often found in hot, sunny bogs of Texas and the east coast of the United States. Bog soil is acidic and lacks nutrients so digested insects serve as an important source of nourishment for the plants. When blooming, the Sarracenia’s dramatic umbrella-like flowers are usually on long stems well above the pitcher, to avoid trapping potential pollinators. Today, the IUCN Red List has named several species vulnerable, threatened or endangered because of human interference.

The genus Stapelia consists of 40 species of succulent plants. The hairy, oddly textured and colored appearance of many Stapelia flowers resembles that of rotting meat. This, coupled with their foul odor, has earned members of the Stapelia genus the common name of “carrion flowers”. These odors serve to attract various pollinators including blow flies. The flies lay eggs in the center of the Stapelia flower, convinced it is rotting meat that will be a food source for the larvae once they hatch.

Plants in the Stapelia genus are known to have flowers that smell like a rotting corpse, hence the common name the carrion flower, but you have to get really close to pick up on the delicate foul odor. Stapelia scitula is a stem succulent native to South Africa. The four-sided stems grow to only 3 inches in height and the flowers are only about an inch across. Throughout the year, the plant is adorned with magenta star-shaped blooms that are densely covered in maroon hairs.

Plants in this genus were once a part of the genus Lycopodium from which they differ by not having specialized spore-bearing cones. Spores from Lycopodium are highly flammable and were once a primary ingredient in fireworks and in flash powders used in photography. The dry spores are also hydrophobic, which makes them repel water, and were used as a waterproofing powder for pills, and surgical gloves. Today, we know that Huperzia squarrosa also has impactful medicinal properties that are used to treat brain disorders, Alzheimer, and Parkinson diseases.

Microsorum musifolium is especially noteworthy for the texture of the leaves, the Crocodile Fern comes from the Malaysian Archipelago and makes a great house plant. The name Crocodile Fern comes from the beautiful dark green veins that wrinkle in a pattern that resembles the back of a crocodile. It is naturally an epiphyte and can grow on trees or even on rocks. It can tolerate medium shade and prefers to stay moist but well drained. If grown correctly, they can grow up to 1 meter tall and over 1 meter wide. The genus Microsorum means ‘small sori’ in Greek, which describes the cluster of spore capsules on the underside of the leaves. The species name musifolium means ‘banana-like leaves’ which references the elongated strap-life fronds.

Staghorn ferns have two types of fronds, basal and fertile. The sterile, oval-shaped, basal fronds not only help the plant adhere to trees, but also cover the roots to protect against damage, capture rain water, and trap leaf litter that decomposes and provides the plant with nutrients. The antler shaped fertile fronds hold the reproductive spores. There are about 17 accepted species, the most common is P. bifurcatum mature plant can be up to 3 feet across.