Bulbophyllum beccarii
Encyclopedia
Bulbophyllum beccarii is by far the largest species in the genus Bulbophyllum
and one of the largest in the orchid family.
The thick rhizome
, reportedly up to 20 cm in diameter (but the thickest reliably reported has been five cm.) snakes its way around tree trunks climbing up into the light. Along its length at intervals are the relatively small egg shaped pseudobulb
s each with a huge thick, leathery leaf at their apex. They are up to 60 cm long and 20 cm wide, yellowish-green and point vertically.The huge bowl shaped leaves are designed to catch falling debris and turn it into fertilizers. The inflorescence
is produced from the rhizome near one of the pseudobulbs and hangs downwards to about 20-22 cm and is composed of hundreds of small yellowish flowers netted with red that have an extremely disagreeable smell to attract various flies. It grows in the rainforest
s of Borneo
.
Bulbophyllum
Bulbophyllum is the largest genus in the orchid family Orchidaceae. With more than 2,000 species, it is also one of the largest genera of flowering plants, exceeded only by Astragalus...
and one of the largest in the orchid family.
The thick rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
, reportedly up to 20 cm in diameter (but the thickest reliably reported has been five cm.) snakes its way around tree trunks climbing up into the light. Along its length at intervals are the relatively small egg shaped pseudobulb
Pseudobulb
The pseudobulb is a storage organ derived from the part of a stem between two leaf nodes.It applies to the orchid family , specifically certain groups of epiphytic orchids, and may be single or composed of several internodes with evergreen or deciduous leaves along its length.In some species, it is...
s each with a huge thick, leathery leaf at their apex. They are up to 60 cm long and 20 cm wide, yellowish-green and point vertically.The huge bowl shaped leaves are designed to catch falling debris and turn it into fertilizers. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is produced from the rhizome near one of the pseudobulbs and hangs downwards to about 20-22 cm and is composed of hundreds of small yellowish flowers netted with red that have an extremely disagreeable smell to attract various flies. It grows in the rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
.