Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum Pg6

Hyalosema Section: At one point in time, this Section was isolated due to its very unique bloom, characterised by large dorsal sepal which usually have translucent windows. The centre distribution is in New Guinea.

This is Bulbophyllum longisepalum from PNG which has massive and beautiful bloom.

B. grandiflora is from PNG. This is the largest flowering member of the Hylosema section, which has the centre of distribution in New Guinea. The usual colour of this species is dull red but the one shown here is the rare alba form - the underside of the dorsal sepal has intricate brown venation pattern.

Bottom: Normal colour form of B. grandiflora. This particularly flower is massive, the size of a fist !

Bulbophyllum leysianum is another plant from the Hyalosema Section having rather large flowers. The photo below shows the translucent "windows" on the large dorsal sepal and the interestingly long narrow petal extension with a knob at the tip. I have seen a few websites in the internet showing flowers of the Lepidorhiza Section (probably B nymphopolitanum or affiliate) and calling them as this species. It is a mystery to me how this can come about, as these 2 sections are clearly very different . Internet information - trust at your own risk !