Trisetella hoeijeri

Trisetella hoeijeri is a tiny species from Ecuador that was once classified as Masdevallia.  Most of the Trisetellas have small reddish-brown flowers with short tails, but this one, obviously, is different.  The plant is a few centimeters tall and the flowers are 4 cm from tip to tip.  The plant should be grown mounted and cool with plenty of water.  For some reason my plant only produced a couple of flowers this winter and probably needs just a little more light.

Trisetella hoeijeri

Trisetella hoeijeri is a tiny species that was once classified as Masdevallia.  Most of the Trisetellas have small reddish-brown flowers with short tails, but this one, obviously, is different.  The plant is a few centimeters tall and the flowers are 4 cm from tip to tip.  My plant blooms with a lot of flowers in early winter, but produces an odd flower off and on throughout the year.  It is from Ecuador and is grown mounted and cool.

Trisetella hoeijeri

I've posted a description of this species before (see below), but it is in bloom once again with more flowers than ever, so I thought I'd post a few more pictures.  The plant is tiny, only a few centimeters tall, with bird-like flowers that dwarf the plant.

http://orchidsinbloom-ron.blogspot.com/2011/06/trisetella-hoeijeri.html

Trisetella hoeijeri

This tiny orchid is related to Masdevallia and used to be classified with them.  It is native to Ecuador, grows at high elevations and requires cool temperatures.  It is named after its Swedish discover who found it first in 1990.  Because of its tiny size it is best grown mounted on a twig or small branch and needs good humidity and frequent watering.

The plant itself is only 2-3 cm tall but the flowers are 3 cm by 5.5 cm measured from the tips of the tails.  They have a sparkling texture and look like little white birds in flight.  The flowers are carried on thin wiry spikes that are about 3.5 cm long.  It blooms off and on year around but produces a flush of flowers in the late spring or early summer.

It is very different both in flower shape and color from most of the other species in the genus.  Most of them have reddish or purplish flowers with a rather cupped shape and are quite small in comparison to this species.  For these reasons the species is also one of the more desirable in the genus and was much sought after when first discovered.