Psychopsis Kalihi

In Explore January 3, 2012, #278.

There are four species in the genus Psychopsis and they are often referred to as "butterfly orchids," though from this perspective the flower looks more to me like a maid with a huge, frilly skirt. This is a hybrid of two of the species, Psychopsis krameriana and Psychopsis papilio. The flowers are very large, 15-20 cm tall, with long narrow segments that look a lot like the antennae of a butterfly, just visible at the top of this flower. They bloom successively on flower spikes that are many feet in length. The plant is far too large for me and this flower was photographed at the Mount Baker Orchid Society show in 2011.

orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2011/03/mount-baker-orchi...