We always have at least one Bulbophyllum species in flower and Bulbophyllum picturatum always flowers in February.

Bulbophyllum is an extraordinary genus and we have seen bulbophyllum species in our trips to:

Sarawak – where bulbophyllum purpurescens is a common orchid in lowland forest (image below in wet forest)

Rwanda where we found Bulbophyllum oreonastes flowering all around the Karimanzovu swamp

Laos where extraordinary bulbophyllums included Bulbophyllum lemniscatodes and Bulbophyllum liliaceum (below)

Sikkim with the delightful (if inconvenient in cultivation) bulbophyllum crassipes

and even in Brazil, Bulbophyllum campos-portoi.

This makes Bulbophyllum one of the rare pandemic orchid genera, and the wide distribution could be one explanation for the wonderfully varied forms of the flowers.

Todays Bulbophyllum picturatum (below in case you have forgotten what it looks like after our trip around the globe) is vigorous and free flowering. The species  is native to lowland forest in Thailand and Myanmar where it grows as an epiphyte in evergreen trees. The intricate flowers are produces in a terminal semicircular umbel like groups. This habit is common in a large group of Bulbophyllums once called cirrhopetalums. The large creamy yellow tube at the bottom of the flower is formed from the lateral sepals. The flowers are fragrant and have a fishy smell which is not unpleasant. – Hoorah for Bulbophyllums.

We grow plants in baskets in shade in our Warm Asia section and water throughout the year.