Unidentified Epidendrum
 

Hi,
I got this plant years ago tagged as Epidendrum melanoporphyraeum, which evidently it is not. Slender, wiry inflorescence and very tiny flowers (5mm). Does somebody know this plant?

Thanks,
Tango

Do you have photos of the whole plant? And maybe some flower photos from the front of a fully-opened flower? don't know what it is, don't recognize the flowers. but maybe more views of the plant and the flowers might help,

Hi Roberta,

Thank you for your answer .

Yes, sorry, I uploaded only a couple of bad photos, but after 4 years I was really impatient to know what this plant was. Yesterday the flower was not fully opened, as I visited the plant today to water it a bit and it turned out to be a Barkeria! But an evergreen one. Does not shed a single leaf in winter.

Any idea about the species?
Thank you,
Tango

I didn't know that there ARE evergreen Barkerias! It's not a large genus, try looking through IOSPE It's going to be one of the warm-growing tropical Barkerias, I think, since those that experience "seasons" are deciduous.

---------- Post added at 08:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:29 AM ----------

I looked at some of the photos on IOSPE... I wonder if it is Bark. whartoniana. Still puzzled by the evergreen characteristic, but maybe these warm-growing Barkeris do that if they stay warm and damp. I only grow the species that are cold-tolerant, they definitely experience "winter" and respond accordingly so I don't have a point of reference.

Oh thanks, at IOSPE I came across B. dorotheae, that seems plausible. Well I didn't know either that some Barkerias could be evergreen. The smallest cane is 3 years old and still keeps its leaves! This plant never gets a dry rest and in 4 years did not shed its leaves. Close to it I have a Barkeria scandens, a lazy guy that sleeps 6 or 7 months a year.
Thanks!
Tango

---------- Post added at 04:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:37 PM ----------

I don't know, B. whartoniana seems to have a more or less flat labellum and my plant's one is heavily folded. But it's a first bloom of a tiny plant, so maybe a next inflorescence may be more revealing

---------- Post added at 04:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:41 PM ----------

I'm very happy about this plant. It was rescued from the waste bin of a large collection by a friend of mine, then he gave it to me because it was dying, and after three changes of home in 4 years it has managed to live on. Tough little boy 💪

Great save! I do love Barkerias. Mine get cold and lose leaves - and come back from the "dead" every year. I have learned the hard way to not cut the spent inflorescence , when truly dead it is brittle and can be snapped off with fingers, but below that point, still very much alive. (I have had the "Oh sh****t reaction when cutting what looked very dead and realizing that what I just destroyed was green. I don't do that any more...) Yours looks so healthy!

Hi Roberta,
And here is the almost completely developed inflorescence!
Thank you for your help and comments. By the way, I saw the photos of your beautiful plants, looks like an orchid paradise.
Best,
Tango.

Thanks! Glad that you enjoyed my back yard! That's a really beautiful Barkeria, whichever ono it is. Is that a Den bensoniae behind it? Waiting for mine, just buds so far, blooming very late this year.

Hehe what an eye! Yes a tiny Dendrobium bensoniae, a survivor of bad times now enjoying a break.
Glad to speak with you Roberta.
Tango.

Thanks! I love Den. bensoniae. Fragrance is wonderful. With tender loving care, it won't stay tiny long! Of my deciduous Dendrobiums, that is the only one that I do dry out in winter - it isn't shy about losing leaves, and the canes stay firm all winter, it is mounted (Other deciduous Dens I do continue to water, since my climate is so dry, the cold seems to be a sufficient trigger for blooming) This one has rewarded me in spite of (or because of) the abuse... turning into a very substantial plant.