Bulbo purpureorachis ... this was cool!

[pavel]

Not mine, but one I saw at the MSU show. I've never seen this one before and just thought it too cool! The 'spike' was approx 2 ft [about 60 cm] tall, & both undulated and twisted as you can see.



The flowers appeared along the midvein of the 'leaf'

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Weird - but cool. I like it!!!

Cheers,
BD

[Mahon]

These are my favorite, great pic! When I had mine, they were VERY large bulbs and 2 long leathery leaves, with the huge spike... the lips would move too... thanks for sharing!

-Pat

[Ron-NY]

"The flowers appeared along the midvein of the 'leaf'"

the proper term is rhachis. The. Megaclinium Group of Bulbos all have a flowers along a rhachis. They are all from the African continent. Purpureorhachis is the most robust of this group. I purchased a division of this species last year. The species name means: purple-red colored rhachis. Other members of this group include falcatum, maximum, sandersonii and many others.

[pavel]

"The flowers appeared along the midvein of the 'leaf' "

the proper term is rhachis.

Thanks Ron! I knew 'leaf' wasn't correct but 'spike' didn't seem right either in this case. [& I really didn't have the time or inclination for searching out the answer!]

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Thanks Ron! I added rhachis to the glossary.

Cheers,
BD

[Tindomul1of9]

That is soo wierd. Let me get this straight. The twisty purple thing is the spike? ANd the bumbps are where the flowers come out?

[Piper]

I'm just following Ron's lead, but the rachis is the "spike" and the bumps are the buds.

Rachis: A main axis or shaft, as the main stem of an inflorescence or the spinal column.

LOL - I never thought of my spine as a flower spike!

McJulie

[pavel]

That is soo wierd. Let me get this straight. The twisty purple thing is the spike? ANd the bumbps are where the flowers come out?

LOL. Yep to both! And the 'bumps' are on both sides of the 'twisty thing'. If I actually had the room for such an oddity, I'd be sorely tempted to get on.

I'm just following Ron's lead, but the rachis is the "spike" and the bumps are the buds.

Rachis: A main axis or shaft, as the main stem of an inflorescence or the spinal column.

LOL - I never thought of my spine as a flower spike!

McJulie

me neither!