Ground Orchid, Sumaré (Cyrtopodium paranaense)

Ground Orchid, Sumaré
Cyrtopodium paranaense

This plant seemed to have been smashed by a car or something. The inflorescence was broken, but it was over than 1,5 meters tall. Rio de Janeiro, mid summer.

What a long inflorescence and the number of blooms is wonderful. The yellow color makes it really standout. Thanks for sharing this plant.

The flowers are beautiful. C. paranaense is the most common species of this genus, and is still easy to find in the remains of its natural habitat... but I recognize the plant (I´m not counting the blooms) as one of the ugliest plants I know :^P I will take a picture of the pseudobulbs some day and post it.

Why do you think that the plant itself is ugly? Also, are the bloom stalks sturdy and, thus, usually stay pretty much vertical or do they fall over somewhat with the weight of all of those blooms?

The flower stak stay erect and pretty tall, but, in the natural habitat, it´s protected from strong winds, so a stick or something else to help it stay firmly vertical may be needed. I used it when it bloomed.

The plant is horrible, believe me. There are some big ones in the Botanical Garden that are quite weird. When the pseudobulb loses its leaves in early spring, it becomes a weird grey, wrinkled and fat structure.

But then... I don´t know many orchids that are good looking plants when not blooming anyway :^P

You stated that it becomes a weird grey, wrinkled and fat structure ... hope that's not me in a few years. My hair is already white although it started turning white when I was in my thirties. I have to keep trimming trees, hauling brush, hauling in landscape bricks and patio pavers, hauling dirt to keep in shape and moving the tender plants in and out of the house during freezes. I don't want to resemble this plant when it loses its leaves! :o)
Thanks for the information.

Gray, wrinkled, and fat - yep, that's what we're all trying to avoid! (*grin*)

htop, I found my first gray hair when I was 25, and in the fifteen-plus years since, it's been joined by MANY others - in fact, I'd guess the gray hairs on my head are just barely in the minority at this point, although I try to keep them hidden with a nice dark brown hair color!

I had blondish hair and the white came in as a streak just as my grandmother's had done so it was kinda neat at first. Then, it looked like a frost so that was still kinda neat too. But, the streak and the frost just started taking over. I colored it a light ash blonde for years and then just said to heck with it because my scalp burned when I used it. Five years ago when a cashier asked if I had a senior discount, I thought about coloring it again, but everyone complements me on the color of my hair and I am now in the "senior" group so I think I'll just keep it as a badge of honor for making it this far in life. My daughter's hair starting turning when she was 25 too.

My hair is very black, so it´s easy to find white hair. I´m 25 now, and I´ve been finding them since my late teens. I´m lucky it´s turning white instead of falling off :^P

So true ... my husband used to have nice thick very dark brown hair. Now the front and top of his head glistens in the sun. It doesn't bother him except when he is deer hunting and his head gets cold so he has to wear a cap.