Bulbophyllum fletcherianum

Tongue Orchid
Bulbophyllum fletcherianum at Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Epidendroideae
Tribe:	Podochilaeae
Subtribe:	Bulbophyllinae
Genus:	Bulbophyllum
Species:	B. fletcherianum
Binomial name
Bulbophyllum fletcherianum Rolfe
Synonyms
Cirrhopetalum fletcherianum (Rolfe) Rolfe (1915) Bulbophyllum spiesii Garay (1990)

The Tongue Orchid (Bulbophyllum fletcherianum) is a rare orchid native to southern New Guinea, also known as Fletcher's Bulbophyllum or Spies' Bulbophyllum. It prefers sunny rock outcrops or mossy tree branches, but besides being lithophytic or epiphytic, it can also be pseudo-terrestrial. The Tongue Orchid requires high humidity and moist roots.

It is one of the largest species of orchid in the world, with leaves growing to almost 1.8 meters (6 feet), from a pseudobulb. It is allied to other large orchid species such as B. phalaenopsis and B. macrobulbon.

The flowers are maroon and spike-shaped, and release an over-powering aroma which attracts blowflies and carrion beetles for pollination.

Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens

The specimen at the Tropical House, Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens was collected in Papua New Guinea in the early 1970s by a local orchid collector, and is mounted on cork oak. As of 2006. it has flowered just three times: in 1980, 2002 and 2005.

References

• "Bulbophyllum fletcherianum". Orchids Online. Archived from the original on 2006-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20060927195638/http://www.orchidsonline.com.au/interactive/node/1161. Retrieved 2006-11-15.