Rare Orchids

Currently the world is full of exotic flowers and very rare, some are very rare but today you willmeet many of these flowers, we dive into the world of orchids usually these flowers are of extraordinary beauty, so having said that we know the rare orchids and exotic orchids that exist in the world.

Content Index

• 1 Rare orchids and exotic orchids
• 2 Exotic flowers orchids
  • 2.1 Prosthechea cochleata
  • 2.2 Bratonia Shelob ‘Tolkien’
• 3 exotic blue orchids
• 4 Exotic orchids of the world
  • 4.1 Exotic orchids of Colombia
  • 4.2 Brazilian exotic orchids
  • 4.3 Exotic orchids of Venezuela
• 5 Orchids and exotic plants
  • 5.1 Orchids exotic vandas
  • 5.2 Exotic phalaenopsis orchids
• 6 rarest orchids in the world
  • 6.1 Orchid slipper
  • 6.2 Orchid Hochstetter
  • 6.3 Coleman orchid
• 7 Rare and Exotic Orchids Latin America
  • 7.1 Rare orchids in Mexico
  • 7.2 Rare orchids in Colombia
  • 7.3 Brazilian rare orchids
• 8 Types of rare orchids
• 9 Mini rare orchids

Rare orchids: What are the rarest orchids in the world?

This article is about rare orchids that can be seen around the world. If you’ve never seen the monkey face orchid, you’re in the right place. Whenever I show this to my family or friends, they think that the photos are made by computer, but no, they are not.

There are more than 20,000 species of orchids in the world and many of them are quite rare. Orchids produce the most interesting, rare and exotic flowers in different colors, shapes, smells and variations. They also have a number of interesting tricks regarding fertilization.

It is quite sad to think that many of the most exotic species are in danger or on the verge of extinction . Here is a list of the ten best known orchids that look like animals:

Table Of Contents

• 1 Dracula Simia – Orchid Monkey Face, a leader among the rarest orchids in the world:
• 2 Orchis Simia:
• 3 Fly Orchid:
• 4 Bee Orchid:
• 5 Duck Orchid:
• 6 Paloma Orchid:

Dracula Simia – Orchid Monkey Face, a leader among the rarest orchids in the world:

Found on the sides of the high mountains located in the southeast of Ecuador and Peru. At an altitude of 1,000-2,000 meters. The Monkey Face Orchid is one of the favorite rare orchids of theplace. This plant is very appreciated among orchid collectors. The surprising thing is that it has a distinctive monkey or baboon face in its flower.

Different flowers provide different expressions of a monkey’s face, from pensive to happy or sad.

Often this orchid is called the Monkey Orchid. This is technically incorrect, even though it is the flowers that look like monkeys.

The botanical name refers to Dracula, which means “little dragon”. People also think of Count Dracula when he sees this flower because the hanging spurs look like fangs.

There are quite a few Dracula orchids that look like monkey faces, but the Simia and Gigas species are the best known.

There are about 120 species of the Dracula family, most of which are found in Ecuador. Many are not seasonal flowers and can bloom at any time throughout the year .

The Cara de Mono orchids need cool temperatures and partial shade. You can also take care indoors, but it’s a bit difficult.

The aroma of the flowers is said to be like that of ripe oranges . The monkey orchid is a little hard to see outside of nature.

Orchis Simia

Another orchid flower that looks like a monkey is the Orchis Simia. Also known as the “naked man”. This orchid looks like the bodies of small (or human) monkeys .

They are usually gray, white, pink, purple or reddish in color. It is another of the rare orchids that can be found on the planet.

The Monkey Orchid was discovered for the first time in France in the year 1779. It can be found from the south of England to North Africa and other places such as Iran.

It used to be a common orchid to see, but since 1920 it has become harder to find.

The Mono Orchid is perennial and blooms from May to June every year. It has two oval tubers, so its name (Orchis of the family Orchidaceae) means “testicle” in Greek.

Another version of the Orchid Mono is the Orchis Italica, which is a native of the Mediterranean and similar to the Simia of Orchis.

Fly orchid

The fly orchid looks like something you probably will not want to pick up.

Not only does it look like a fly, but it depends on flies, bees and wasps for pollination , using an aroma that attracts male insects.

Sometimes the aroma reminds insects of food and sometimes reminds them of female insects. When it lands on the flower, the male insect tries to mate with it. Then he feels disappointed by the lack of nectar and procreation, so he loses interest and flies to another flower to pollinate it.

This method of pollination, together with the fact that each pollinated orchid produces more than 10,000 seeds, has made it a widespread orchid and be part of our category of rare orchids.

The fly orchid is common in several places in Ireland, Spain, Romania and Ukraine.  Grows on alkaline soils with full sunlight or partial shade. From heights at sea level to altitude 1700m.

Unfortunately, it is often eliminated in developing areas of the United Kingdom, but the species is not endangered.

Bee Orchid:

Another version of Ofris Insectifera is the bee orchid. The flowers attract male bees in the same way as the fly orchid. Visually mimicking female bees and

also emitting the aroma of bees for pollination, this is why it enters our top of rare orchids.

Bee orchids are common in the Mediterranean regions.  They can also be found in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

There are many hybrids of the genus Ofris, such as Ofris Bomybliflora. Some types of Ofris self-pollinate and do not require insect pollination at all.

Duck Orchid:

The flying duck orchid is found in eastern and southern Australia.

The Orchid Duck attracts the male cecidomids visually and with the smell to achieve pollination.

The first specimen was collected in Sydney in 1803. It was difficult to grow in captivity due to the root system that requires vegetative fungi normally found in nature.

When the insect (actually a cecidomyiidae )lands in the flower, its weight forces the lip (lip), then it falls and is caught, the only exit is an escape where the cecidomid is covered with pollen. This insect will carry later the pollen to another orchid.

The aforementioned cecidomyiidae then flies to another orchid and pollinates it.

This is quite surprising in the world of these plants and makes it enter the top of rare orchids.

Plants can flower for 1 to 2 years, then weaken and die.

They can grow up to 50cm tall and have up to 4 flowers on their rod.

The Paloma Orchid

Flower orchid pigeon or holy spirit. Paloma stands for “dove” in Spanish

It is found from Central America to Ecuador and Venezuela and is the national flower of Panama.

The strange thing about this orchid is that its perfume smells like beer.

Persteria Elata usually grows on the ground, but in humid mountain forests it has been found growing on the trunks of trees.

Due to overexploitation, the pigeon orchid is on the list of endangered plants, and is almost extinct.

Rare orchids and exotic orchids

To begin we know the orchid as a common genus, these are flowers belonging to the plantae kingdom, its division is the Magnoliophyta, its class is Liliopsida, of the order Asparagales or Orchidales and its family is the Orchidaceae.

Orchid Hochstetter

The Orchidaceae family is diverse and widespread in flowering plants, with blooms that are often very colorful and fragrant, it is popular knowledge that this orchid family along with the Asteraceae, are one of the two largest families of flowering plants .

The Orchidaceae have approximately 28,000 currently accepted species, distributed in about 763 genera, the determination of how large the family is still under discussion, because the verified data on the members of these families are huge and continuously growing.

However, the number of orchid species is almost equal to the number of bony fish and is more than double the number of bird species and approximately four times the number of mammal species, the family also covers about 6 to 11% of all seed plants, The largest genera are Bulbophyllum (2,000 species), Epidendrum (1,500 species), Dendrobium (1,400 species) and Pleurothallis (1,000 species).

Rare orchids and exotic orchids are easily distinguished from other plants, since they share some very obvious native characteristics that are shared, among them are the bilateral symmetry of the flower (zygomorphism), many of the flowers are resupulated, that is, they look upwards, they have a petal that is almost always highly modified called lip, this is fused the seeds of the orchid are extremely small.

Orchids of exotic flowers

Rare orchids and exotic orchids, with their exquisite and spectacular blooms, are very beautiful plants. Some of them, in spite of their exotic appearance, can be of simple care, as long as they understand and manage the adequate conditions for the plant to live comfortably.

Orchids that grow naturally in trees are known as epiphytes, these are often sold in transparent pots so that light can reach their roots, those that grow in the ground are known as terrestrial orchids and sometimes require a wetter habitat that the epiphytic orchids, between the exotic orchids we have.

Prosthechea cochleata

Commonly known as clam shell orchid, it is an epiphytic orchid that can be found throughout Central America, the West Indies, Colombia, Venezuela and South Florida, it is a sympodial orchid, new to the world, it is commonly cultivated by Orchid fans around the world.

The orchid shell is the national flower of Belize in Central America, where it is called black orchid, in Florida, where the orchid is in danger, many wild plants develop a variant that has three masses of complete pollen, this gives the security that the plant is self-fertilized to ensure its survival.E

In other parts of the world, the shell orchid commonly has only a whole mass of pollen, this has led some taxonomists to name the variety in Florida as Prosthechea cochleata var. Triandra

The taxonomists concluded that specimens of the Florida shell orchid may have descended from a single plant, whose small seed could have been transported there by a storm or a bird.

The unique morphology of the orchid shell is the main reason why collectors have found this plant so attractive, each orchid usually has two linear leaves, the flowers are exotic due to the lip of the flower that forms a hood over the column , this causes the flower to be obviously upside down, or resupinate.

Apart from its characteristic shell-shell shape, other plant breeders have described this orchid as an octopus looking, due to the lime-green petals that are hanging like octopus tentacles.

This exotic orchid will bloom for approximately six months beginning generally in spring with an apical inflorescence, erect, that can produce many flowers, these open successively, unfortunately, they are not fragrant, there are different classifications that vary in length of the inflorescence, with some varieties that have a flower peak up to 6 inches in length.

Bratonia Shelob ‘Tolkien’

It is a hybrid orchid also sympodial, was registered in 1998 by JWMcCully, is a cross between Bratonia Olmec and Brassia Edvah Loo, this orchid is exotic due to its characteristic spider-shaped flowers, which have an unusual purple color, as a curious note, his name is inspired by the gruesome giant spider of the Lord of the Rings movie, however the flower is not as frightening as the original spider, its common name is Miltassia, but the correct reclassification is currently Bratonia.

As I indicated earlier, the flowers are spider-shaped, with long thin petals and a longer and thinner lip, the petals are dark brown and purple, sometimes they appear as brown spots on an orange canvas, brown Of course, the lip is wider and has a vivid purple or pink color, with some brown spots surrounded by a yellow border.

The effect of the flowers is spectacular, this being the strong point of this orchid, it is one of the few non-yellow and brown flowers, in the form of Brassia of the world of orchids, the flowers are slightly fragrant, have a spicy smell, fragrance can be felt in the early morning hours throughout the day until evening, at night this orchid has no odor.

This exotic orchid can bloom several times in a year, The flowers usually last between 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the environment, after the fall of the flowers, usually the orchid begins to produce new pseudobulbs, the peaks can be cut close of the base after the blooms fall, since they do not produce seedlings.

Exotic blue orchids

Rare orchids and exotic orchids bloom in a variety of beautiful different colors. Vibrant reds, roses, purples among others, but there are two shades that orchids do not bloom naturally are the complete blue and black, they simply do not have the genetic makeup to make these pigments, there are some varieties of purple orchids that look very blue, but on close inspection they are really a hue of purple, similarly, brown orchids have an extremely rich pigmentation that looks almost black, but it is not a true black color.

The orchids that are sold in the market are simply white dyed with tincture, although there are no pure blue orchids, the following variety is among some of the closest tones of blue that you will find in nature.

Cymbidium dedicatulum

Dendrobium species are epiphytic, occasionally lithophytic, adapted to a wide variety of habitats, from high altitudes in the Himalayas to lowland tropical forests and even to the dry climate of the Australian desert.

They are sympodial orchids that develop pseudobulbs, which vary in length from less than one centimeter to several meters in length, depending on the specimen. These are similar to rods, the bases of the leaves form pods that completely surround the stem, in the Formosae section, Pods and the undersides of the leaves are covered with thin short black hairs.

It has short oval leaves growing alternately over the entire length of the stems, these orchids grow rapidly during the summer, but take a break during the winter, the dormant buds explode at the base of the pseudobulb mainly in spring, this is followed by rapid growth of new roots.

The reproduction is usually through seeds, but some species reproduce asexually through keikis produced along the stem, usually after flowering and sometimes as a result of a lesion on the growing tip.

Exotic orchids of the world

Around the world there are many orchids, we know in this part of the post some rare orchids and exotic orchids distributed around the planet.

Exotic orchids of Colombia

Cattleya trianae

We have the Cattleya trianae is also known as Flor de Mayo or Christmas Orchid, is a plant belonging to the Orchidaceae family, grows as an epiphyte orchid, with succulent leaves, endemic to Colombia where it was nominated as a national flower in November 1936, that year, the National Academy of History of Argentina asked the Latin American countries to participate in an exhibition with the representative flowers of each country. The Colombian government gave the botanist Emilio Robledo the task of designating the most representative flower plant in the country.

The choice of Cattleya trianae was made for two main reasons, the lip is yellow, blue and red, like the Colombian flag and the species was named in honor of the Colombian botanist José Jerónimo Triana of the 19th century, the species grows to 1500- 2000 meters above sea level, in cloud forests, it is a species in danger due to the destruction of the habitat.

Brazilian exotic orchids

In Brazil there are different types of rare orchids and exotic orchids, the first we can find, Cattleya intermedia is a species native to the southern and southeastern states of Brazil in Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, not There is no registration for the state of Paraná.

The first intermediate Cattleya plants were brought to the United Kingdom in 1824, to the Glasgow Botanical Garden in Scotland, by Captain Graham of the Royal Service Packages at the request of Harrison, a resident of Rio de Janeiro, was described with the name Cattleya the middle name refers to the sizes of Cattleya flowers known so far, there is a wide variety of colors and color forms you can find specimens from a color Alba to a dark crimson, there are also orchids of a soft color sky blue to a violet purple.

Cattleya Intermedia

In the south of Rio Grande do Sul, this species grows mainly in the plated silver cork along the Laguna de los Patos and the Bañado de Taim ecological reserve, a little over 100 km from the border with Uruguay. develops on the fig trees, on the sand, on the shore of the beach of the granitic rock ponds and butiazeiros.

Cattleya intermedia varieties can be classified by the color form, so we will have the orlatas, which have the line of the sides colorful around the tube of the lip, also some specimens have a broader and deeper color border, we have the orchid peoriadas or flammeas, where the petals try to imitate the lip in its width and shape, it can be of color or not, the most common colors are wine, purple-violet, soft, amethyst, and are also classified by the homogeneous distribution of color in the petals.

Exotic orchids of Venezuela

This beautiful country also gives a habitat to a variety of rare orchids and exotic orchids , for example, we have the Coryanthes pegiae which is a flower with extravagant appearance, also has a unique behavior because it blooms on anthills, has a petal transparent that makes it very exotic, its flowers are of an orange color with brown tones, it has dark brown spots, it is endemic to Venezuela, specimens are observed in the Cataniapo river, near Puerto Ayacucho, in the Amazona state.

Coryanthes Pegiae

It is considered the most striking in Venezuela, and presents a high demand at commercial level, which is affecting its wild populations, this orchid has not been able to propagate by seed, it has a report that its survival in culture is not possible.

Orchids and exotic plants

The number of lovers of rare orchids and exotic orchids increases more and more, and many people want a lot of information about the different species of orchids that can give beauty to their residence, in this part of the post you will know what rare orchids and exotic orchids you can cultivate With success in your home, the number of lovers of rare orchids and exotic orchids increases more and more, and many people want a lot of information about the different species of orchids that can give beauty to your residence, in this part of the post you will know which Orchids rare and exotic orchids can grow successfully in your home.

Orchids exotic vandas

With huge flowers it is a wonderful plant that has vibrant nuclei and petals that attract attention, strengthening its position in the market is one of the most popular species found in these, its perfume is wonderful, it is a kind of orchid that stands out because its flowering happens more than once for a year, the flowers are strong also develops well in dynamic climates, the environment is very important for the cultivation of this orchid species, it is very comfortable to have temperatures between 12 ° C a 40 ° C, with a good amount of water and a lot of humidity.

Exotic phalaenopsis orchids

It is a nice type of rare orchids and exotic orchids of Asian origin with long, shiny leaves that adapt to sunny climates without much shade, this species is grouped into two types, some can reach a meter in height, while others only they are a miniature that measure around 30 cm, a good news for the admirers is that the plant can live in urban areas, they adapt well in the apartments it is necessary to water it every seven or fifteen days.

The world’s rarest orchids

We already knew the exotic orchids, now we will study the rarest species of these beautiful flowers, some are very magnificent specimens that are worth observing for this reason I leave you many images of these beautiful flowers, then we start with the rare orchids, they are not all but if some of the most striking.

In this part of the post you will get to know the rarest and most expensive orchids that can be found around the world, if you surprised yourself, prepare to do it even more, they have a unique beauty and there are species that are so rare that you can only see them once in hundreds of years.

Orchid slipper

Also known under its scientific name of Paphiopedilum Spicerianum, they are another very rare member of the orchid family found mainly in London and some other areas in Europe, the combination of yellow and purple on a flower is extremely rare, they are found little in nature for this reason makes these orchids not only one of the rarest but also one of the most expensive flowers in the world, the species is protected by law in London.

Orchid Hochstetter

This orchid is definitely the rarest species in Europe and one of the rarest in the world too, we are talking about the butterfly orchid of Hochstetter or Platanthera azorica, which has recently been rediscovered on a volcanic ridge in the Azores, although it was first documented In 1838, it took almost two centuries to observe it again.

Observe in this video other very rare orchids found around the world, some very beautiful species.

Coleman orchid

This stunning purple orchid can only be found in some mountain areas in the southwest, its scientific name is Hexalectris colemanii is a real mystery, even for scientists who have not yet found how the flowers are pollinated, there are only 200 of these rare orchids in the wild and spotted specimens are even more rare to see, this makes them one of the rarest orchids in the world.

Rare and Exotic Orchids Latin America

In Latin America there are a lot of orchids due to the different climates present in most of the areas, as well as the richness of their soils between the rare orchids and exotic orchids that exist in these countries. I can mention the following ones.

Rare orchids in Mexico

There are also rare orchids and exotic orchids that resemble some animals and you can have at home taking into account certain cares, among them I can name you, Orchid Dracula simia (monkey face), it can be said that it is a more or Less rare, it has its origin to the southeast of Ecuador in areas of height of 1,000 and 2,000 meters, it can be cultivated domestically requiring a lot of care.

We also have the tiger orchid a nice species of orchid that is habitat in Mexico and Guatemala, it is striking because its nuclei resemble a tiger, they are kept very humid for a long period of time.

In this video, obtain more information about this orchid.

Rare orchids in Colombia

The devil orchid whose scientific name is Elipogon diabolicus is a species of orchid of the genus Telipogon, it is only known that there is a single population of 30 plants on the border between the departments of Putumayo and Nariño, in southern Colombia. classified as critically endangered in the International Union for the Conservation of the Red List of Nature, The name diabolicus refers to the way in which its center of wine-red or brown color resembles the head of the devil, adult plants they measure between 5,5 and 9 cm high

Brazilian rare orchids

It is a species of Black Orchid native to the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The ideal climate for its cultivation is with an average temperature between 10 ° and 35 ° C. It should not be cultivated in environments where they are exposed to direct sunlight, the ideal is 50% shading, the plant reaches a size of up to 20 cm in height and its flowers can reach 2 cm.

The flowering of this orchid lasts on average 20 days and happens several times during the year and its flowers are very dark chestnuts reaching a dark purple, they have no perfume, they can be cultivated in earthenware, it is a type of plant with large needs of humidity, is a species of orchid very appreciated among the Brazilian orchids.

Types of rare orchids

Paphiopedilum rothschildianum

There are different types of rare orchids, which you will see below belong to different genres, but they have in common the rare of their characteristics. We have the orchid Paphiopedilum, another Equisetum, Platanthera and finally a Thelymitra.

The Orchid of Sumazau It is the most expensive orchid in the world its scientific name is Paphiopedilum rothschildianum , this orchid is also known as Sumazau orchid because the lateral petals are long, they swirl to the flower and look like the outstretched arms of the Sumazau dancer, the Sabah’s most popular traditional dance, what makes it so expensive is the fact that it is extremely rare, it takes around 15 years to grow and bloom is stunningly beautiful.

The mouth of the dragon or scientific name is Equisetum telmateia is a very rare terrestrial orchid that can be found in swamps and other wet places in the eastern United States. UU and in eastern Canada, it is a beautiful leafless orchid that grows up to 15 cm and forms large pink / purple flowers with white and yellow ringed crests.

Learn more about this species in this video.

We also have the Sun Orchid , Its scientific denomination is Thelymitra jonesii is an endangered member in critical condition, of the genus of Thelymitra also known as sun orchids, They are called in this way because they open their flowers only when the water is hot, rare orchids and exotic orchids found only in Tasmania, the orchid leaf of the blue sky sun is channeled, fleshy, dark green with a reddish base, and is 6 to 21 cm long, the species blooms from October to the beginning of December.

The Swampy Orchid of Hawaii, This fringed orchid is one of three species that can be found in Hawaii and lives in a swamp, where local wild pigs can not reach it, its leaves are pale green egg-shaped and yellow flowers greenish that develop in open peaks, its scientific name is Platanthera holochila is part of the genus Platanthera, orchids of this genus are also known as orchids butterflies, are terrestrial and have tubers.

Mini rare orchids

Some orchids are extremely small and fall into the category of mini among them we find the bull orchid , It has Dendrobium taurinum as a scientific name its common name is born by its twisted horn petals, are found in green, purple and white, the size of the flower ranges between 5 and 6.5 cm, is found in the Philippines and in the Indonesian province of Maluku.

The little three-bird Orchid is also known as Scientific Name Triphora trianthophora The species is threatened in New England and much of its range in North America as well, these rare orchids and exotic orchids are small perennial grasses with purple and small stems green leaves of nails, its flowers open only in the morning and are pale pink with green crests on the lip, develop in semi-dry forests, near the bases of hardwood trees.

Finally we have the Phantom Orchid This orchid was discovered in Britain in 1954, they only saw each other 11 times in 100 years, which makes them one of the rarest flowers in the world, as for their name, they receive it because of their Creamy white to pinkish brown color and because of their fleeting appearances in dark and shady woods, they are quite small, usually do not exceed 15 cm, their scientific name is Epipogium aphyllum .

With this we finish our collection of the rarest orchids that can be found all over the world.

This makes us see how amazing the world of orchids and their different species is.

I encourage visitors to send me your photos if you have any of these rare orchids or others that you consider strange.