At long last I am about to bloom Bulbophyllum
echinolabium under lights. Something of a geek's delight--the plant's
flower is fabulous and large, but its scent is a dead ringer for decaying
mouse--I've had it for some time without the pleasure of its particular fetor.
I first saw--and smelled--the plant in the collection of The New York
Botanical Garden. It has one of the largest flowers in the entire (and rather
populous, with over a thousand species) genus Bulbophyllum (from the Greek bulbos,
meaning “bulb” and phyllon meaning
“leaf”). It can reach nearly 16” long on inflorescence that approaches 28” in
length.
The huge flower is graceful in appearance with spreading sepals and petals
and a dark red labellum (the third petal) variously described as papillose or
carunculate…both meaning having small growths (the first meaning “nipple-like”
the second “lumpy”) and with a long tubular apex.
The species hails from Sulawesi and Borneo
where it grows in warm, moist environments. That’s your clue for growing the
plant: warm and moist, good but not scorching light, loose potting mix (bark,
perlite, charcoal, etc….). Pots or baskets suit it equally well as it does not
scramble as much as some of the other species rather it plods along in an
ever-expanding clump.
Even amid orchid growers, certainly amongst the geeks of the
plant world, this plant is a world apart. Someday I’ll catalogue some of the
other “unique” fragrances of the orchid world…. Can’t wait, right?
