Hello my dear,
I hope you´ve all had nice Christmas days and gifts.
To my very surprise one of my orchids sent out flower buds for Christmas and the first one opened just in time! I´ve been at my parents over the holidays and when I´ve come back yesterday the second flower has been open. I´ve taken the digital cam of my stepfather and made some snapshots.
This is a Restrepia orchid and according to the information the donator has given me it could be a Restrepia falkenbergii or a hybrid with R. falkenbergii as one ancestor. Comparisons with other R. falkenbergii flower pictures on the web suggest that my specimen is most likely a hybrid. The "tongue" of my flowers look significantly different to that one of the other "Falkenbergiis" I´ve seen. Well, in the end the flower looks like an ALIEN anyway, doesn´t it?
More flowers to come as you might detect. =D
Not bad, is it?
Bye
Andreas