Restrepia, Orchid
Restrepia is a genus of epiphytic orchids in the family Orchidaceae, comprising 50 species. Restrepia is abbreviated as Rstp in horticultural trade, and is named in honor of Don Jose Manuel Restrepo (1781-1863), an investigator of Colombian flora. It is distributed from Southern Mexico to Northern Argentina, where the plants thrive in cool moist forests of the high Andes mountain range. Restrepia species are tiny epiphytic and rarely lithophytic orchids that lack pseudobulbs. They have erect, thick, leathery leaves of elliptic-ovate in shape, and aerial roots with fine hairs. The leaves will turn to a reddish color under optimum conditions. The flowers are developed one at a time, on a slender peduncle from the base of the back of the leaf. Flowering occurs throughout the year. The long dorsal sepal and lateral petals end in thickened club-shaped tip. The fused lateral sepals come in a range of beautiful colors, from white, yellow, rose, purple, orange or tan with red, brown to purple, and are marked frequently with reddish-purple spots or stripes. The long, ovoid lip is widest at its apex, and shares the same color and markings. Keikis or new young plants are produced at the base of mature leaves. Keikis can be removed and grown separately, once they have established a satisfactory root system.  Restrepia brachypus Author: Orchi (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0-unported) | ||
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