Pleurothallis cardiothallis: an odd orchid
From a disease to another orchid. But this is not one I have grown but one I noticed at Dublin botanics a few weeks ago. Now orchids are available everywhere these days but this one won’t ever be very popular because the flowers are only 1cm across! But what makes Pleurothallis cardiothallis and the rest of the genus interesting is the way the stems have a couple of scale-like, clinging leaves around them and then a large leaf at the top with one or a small cluster of flowers that appear to be sprouting from the leaf itself. The plant comes from central America where it grows in misty rainforests and it does not like temperatures above 30c and needs constant moisture. Oddly the name means ‘riblike branches’ and cardiothallis means ‘heartlike branches’ – very strange apart from the fact that the leaves are heartlike in shape. Just to add to the confusion the name has been changed to Acronia cardiothallis anyway!
The Biking Gardener 
That is really beautiful. I love the way it appears through the leaf.
The flowers were small but it was very cute