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From Chiloglottis on Monday 16th of March 2026 05:11:24 PM PDT
Chiloglottis valida D.L.Jones or the large Bird orchid, syn. Simpliglottis valida (D.L.Jones) Szlach. is found in moist slopes and gullies in forests in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia. It has two ground hugging green leaves and a greenish to purplish flower about 3.5 cm across. It is supposed to resemble a small bird with its beak open waiting to be fed. Height range: 4-10 cm. Photos were taken near Menzies Creek, Australia October 2007 by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner.
From Hypseocharis on Sunday 15th of March 2026 05:17:54 PM PDT
Hypseocharis pimpinellifolia is native to Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. It is a summer-growing plant, blooming from mid-summer to autumn, and going completely dormant in winter. In cultivation, this species is prone to rotting if the tubers get watered during their dormancy. However, they like a lot of water during growth and benefit from periodic fertilization. Plants produce large tubers and can quickly outgrow their pots. It takes 2-3 years to bloom these plants from seeds. Seeds can only be made through out-crossing with a different clone. The photos below were taken by Nhu Nguyen. Photo 6 shows a large tuber that is four years old.
From Dipcadi on Saturday 14th of March 2026 05:07:30 PM PDT
Dipcadi crispum Baker is native to Namibia and the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Height: 30 cm. The first five photos were taken by Christiaan van Schalkwyk days after an unusual heavy rain in a drought in the Upington area, Northern Cape, South Africa, December 2019, of plants growing in full sun in sand. The last photo was taken by Margaret Fox August 2022 in the Tankwa Karoo.
From Holothrix on Friday 13th of March 2026 05:24:16 PM PDT
Holothrix grandiflora (Sond.) Rchb.f. is distributed from the west coast to the Eastern Cape where it is found on rock crevices. Growing to 30 cm high, it has two basal ovate leaves, often withered at flowering, and large creamy white flowers often tinged apricot pink. The lip is trumpet-like and prominently fringed into 5-9 filiform lobes. It flowers in March, probably best in good rain years. Photo from the book Plants of the Klein Karoo courtesy of Jan and Anne Lise Schutte-Vlok.
From Dilatris on Thursday 12th of March 2026 05:48:06 PM PDT
Dilatris corymbosa P.J.Bergius is found on damp sandy slopes and flats in the Western Cape. It is often seen after fire in the Western Cape mountains. Growing 40-60 cm high, it flowers from August to January. The flowers are mauve in a flat-topped cluster with hairy lanceolate tepals. Stamens are about as long as the tepals and the large anther more than twice as long as the smaller. The first four photos from iNaturalist were taken by Tony Rebelo in November in the Western Cape and shared under aCC BY-SA license. The last photo of the flowers with monkey beetles was taken by Bernhard Frauenknecht at Bains Kloof December 2023.
From Geissorhiza Species One on Wednesday 11th of March 2026 06:16:01 PM PDT
Geissorhiza elsiae Goldblatt grows on permanently damp south facing slopes and cliffs usually among waterfalls in the Kamanassie Mountains in the Little Karoo. Growing from 13 to 25 cm, this species has linear to sword shaped leaves and light pink flowers with diamond shaped purple markings in the center. It flowers October to November. It can be confused with Geissorhiza roseoalba, but that species grows in more arid areas, has larger flowers, and does not have anthers symmetrically arranged around the style. The photo below from the book Plants of the Klein Karoo courtesy of Jan and Anne Lise Schutte-Vlok.
From Gilliesia on Tuesday 10th of March 2026 05:28:53 PM PDT
Gilliesia graminea Lindl., the type species of this genus, is native to Central Chile to Argentina (Mendoza). This species looks more like an orchid than an amaryllid. According to Chile Flora, this species grows on shaded steep slopes at low altitude, interior valleys or coastal mountains. Height: 8 cm. Photographs 1 to 4 by Bert Zaalberg. Photograph 5 by Dylan Hannon originally from Chile: Cuesta Las Chlieas, 550 m.
From Moraea Species Seven on Monday 9th of March 2026 05:17:10 PM PDT
Moraea polystachya (Thunb.) Ker Gawl. is a vigorous species from the winter and summer rainfall areas of southern Africa. Plants are up to 80 cm tall with several furrowed leaves. Flower stems are branched and flowers quite large. Distribution is from the Karoo, the Little Karoo and the Eastern Cape to Namibia where it is found on dry slopes flowering mainly March to July. The South African Wild Flower Guide 6 for the Karoo lists a much broader distribution.
It is beloved by many members of the PBS mailing list who live in Mediterranean climates, because when happy it produces large numbers of short-lived flowers over a long period from fall to early winter, a time when most other moraeas are barely putting up leaves. Unfortunately it's not as successful in very cold climates or those with year-round rain. If you're growing this species in captivity, keep it dry at the start of summer but start watering it in mid-summer to get the longest bloom period (see cultural notes below). This species is reportedly poisonous to livestock, so be careful not to let it escape into the wild (more information here). The first photo was taken by Sheila Burrow, the second by Bill Dijk, and the third by Bob Rutemoeller. The fourth and fifth were taken by Michael Mace. The fourth shows subtle variations in flower shape and nectar guide color.
The first photo taken in habitat by Cameron McMaster in the Eastern Cape. The next two photos taken in the Little Karoo are from the book Plants of the Klein Karoo courtesy of Jan and Anne Lise Schutte-Vlok. There are two variants that occur in the region, an autumn flowering one with pale blue flowers and a spring or summer flowering one with dark purple blue flowers.
Some growers report considerable success with this species, while others report that it is very inconsistent, blooming well one year and not at all the next. Part of the problem may be that it grows in dry areas scattered across much of South Africa and Namibia, according to Goldblatt's The Moraeas of Southern Africa. So different plants may come from very different climates. The species is typically treated like other winter-growing bulbs, but Goldblatt says that most of its habitat is outside the winter-rain area. Some PBS members report that it grows much more vigorously if given water starting in mid-summer (early August in the northern hemisphere), a watering schedule that would rot many summer-dormant bulbs. With August watering, it can start blooming in October and continue into February, if frost doesn't cut it down. If watering starts in October, the typical start time for a winter-growing bulb, Moraea polystachya will not start blooming until January, and may not bloom at all. In California, M. polystachya is visited by honeybees with an almost disturbing intensity. There appears to be nectar at the base of the tepals, and the bees shove themselves down into the flower to get it. They sometimes emerge from the flowers coated liberally in pollen. As a result of all this attention, the plants will set copious amounts of seed if allowed to. Removing seed pods before they ripen seems to extend the bloom period. The sequence of photos below shows a honeybee in California, its legs already loaded with Moraea pollen, forcing its way into an unopened bud of Moraea polystachya.
The nectar can also attract Argentine ants in California, which then encourage aphids on the flowers and leaves. It's best to spray the ants and aphids when they start to appear, or they will build up rapidly. Seeds from Michael Mace via PBS BX295 germinated by M. Gastil-Buhl with warm day / cold night treatment as early as 14 days (only 2 of about 60). Seedlings grew to over 4 cm in their first 2 weeks, in sterile potting soil with Sphagnum moss and 1 tbsp compost tea after their first week. Corms grown from those same seedlings, in photo 4 on a 1 cm grid, were found below 9 cm (3.5 inches) depth growing in a raised box. Note one corm has sprouted. Another seedling from that same lot first bloomed two years from the date sown, shown in photo 5 growing in a 5 inch tall pot. The bloom stalk bends at angles as each bud opens, as shown in photo 6.
Seed photo from David Pilling.
From Blandfordia on Sunday 8th of March 2026 05:01:53 PM PDT
Blandfordia cunninghamii Lindl. is found on wet sandstone crevices of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. It has tubular red or orange-red flowers with yellow tips and margins. Height range: 80-100 cm. Photo from iNaturalist was taken by Margaret J. Baker in November in the Blue Mountains and shared under a CC BY-NC license.
From Merwilla on Saturday 7th of March 2026 05:44:09 PM PST
Merwilla dracomontana (Hilliard & B.L.Burtt) Speta, syn. Scilla dracomontana Hilliard & B.L.Burtt, is a dwarf species with stiff hairs on the scape found from the foothills of the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Drakensberg. It easily hybridizes with M. plumbea. Photos from iNaturalist in the public domain taken by Peter Warren in October at Garden Castel Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal.
