>I think the smallest orchid is Bulbophylum pygmaeum. The plant is >native to New Zealand. >The plant is a series of match-head sized green pseudobulbs each >topped by a single, 1cm, oval leaf. The flower is green, and 3mm >across. The plant forms mats on branches and bols of trees, and >rocks.
Hi Lesley, Thanks for your response. Several other people answered offline with the same species. However, one person, Sara Giladi (thanks, Sara!), put me onto the track of Macropodiella pellucida, which is smaller (actually, way smaller) than a fingernail, at least based on the photo I found on the Web. This orchid lives in areas of waterfalls and rapids in the Kupe-Bakossi region of Cameroon in tropical Africa and was only recently discovered by scientists from the UK's Royal Botanical Gardens during a ten-year survey. I'm not sure how a plant so tiny could "cling to life in waterfalls and rapids." So then, is this plant smaller than a Bulbophylum pygmaeum? In either case, where could I go to find a high resolution photo of either plant? Or both? Or am I asking for the impossible? I wouldn't mind a trip to Cameroon or even better, New Zealand, where Bulbophylum pygmaeum grows, but there has to be an easier way. So....help! Thanks, Lesley, Sara, and others who gave me this info! You guys are smart!!! Hopefully, I can tell you soon why I need the photo(s). Jim _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
