Master David XI's photostream  

Please do not copy this photograph. It is impossible to find a photograph accidentally unless I posted the photograph. If a member is interested in more information I will be glad to supply it, but at the moment I have too much on my hands than post the technical names of any of the 5,000+ orchids I have underfoot. This plant is NOT available for purchase. This is the first bloom of the hybrid on this particular plant. The others have a span of eight (8) inches. The above bloom is smaller and expected from the first bloom of many hybrids. No permission for use of any photograph of this orchid will be given under any circumstances.

This photograph is a view from first balcony level of the set for the airport scenes in the television series LOST. The building is the Convention Center, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. More photographs to be posted. The image has not been edited or enhanced. The green class color near the center is natural.

All living things that do not damage the orchids in the greenhouses are welcome to nest on the top of one side under shading cloth. They have great things from my potting box to use in making nests. They know I will not harm them and remain in their nests or perches while I water, move plants, or whatever.

This photograph is of another plant than the one seen in another window. The purpose of this duplication is to show the appearance of the center of the bloom. No part of the flower was moved for purposes of this shot.

Oncidium papilio has the generic name in Greek for "butterfly appearance." The above flower is on top a nearly 3-feet stem and seeking to attract an insect for pollination. Simply, the plant has grown in the form of an insect to attract a sexual partner to continue its species. The slightest air movement will cause the stem and blossom to move in the manner of a butterfly. The white orchid to the lower right of the photograph will be seen in a future post. These are growing under an orange tree. A personal observation is that an orchid attracting a pollinator insect may flower with unusually large blossoms if placed near a dark background as the heavy foliage of an orange tree above. The flower wants a sexual encounter and can best be seen by a possible mate if blooming in good light. The exception to this is an orchid that does not depend upon its appearance to attract a pollination, but employs fragrance as a lure. If the attraction is an odor, the appearance of the bloom is not so important. The orchid attracting a particular fly in Central and South America blooms with the odor of decaying flesh of a dead animal. Those orchids are not necessarily known for their beauty by many of us, but the odor can be detected a mile away from the blooming plant.