what a unique bloom. I've never seen anything like that before.
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A recent trade acquisition. Has a nice spearmint spearmint fragrance.
Enjoy!
---Prem
what a unique bloom. I've never seen anything like that before.
That is cool! It looks like it is up side down. The blooms appear huge. It is as big as it looks? Do the blooms open out flat or do they stay semi-closed? That is an awesome trade Prem and a beautifully clear shot. Nice work!
Cheers!
Brutal_Dreamer
This is a neat one, I dont know why he didnt like it. Nice pic Prem!
wow, very cool. I'm just getting started with catasetums this year - I got a bunch of backbulbs and they are all leaves right now. So... I read that this specie's male and female flowers look similar. How can you tell which you've got? (Ok, this is probably a dumb question. I'll get ready to go "duh"!)
no...there's no "duh" about it...with many Catasetum, the male and female flowers are widely disparate in shape, and often oriented the opposite way (male flowers upright and female flowers upside down). With this species, the male flowers are also inverted like the female. The most obvious difference is the column...the male column is more elongate and pointed, while the female column is rather short and button-like. The male column also has a pair of "triggers" that protrude off of it...the slightest touch of one of these triggers will cause it to very forcefully launch the pollinia toward whoever tripped the trigger. You can see the trigger inside the lip of the center flower in the picture...it is the narrow green thing bisecting the dark inside of the lip.
---Prem
Prem - thanks for the explanation. I can't wait for flowers and to try the trigger thing. It's such an interesting genus, what with the male/female flowers, scents and triggers.
From the side, the lip looks to me like a pear! What an odd and beautiful flower--prem, how big are the blooms?
Louis, the flowers are about 2.5 inches from top to bottom. Ki, just prepare yourself mentally to be startled when you touch a Ctsm male flower trigger...it's startling even when you know it's going to happen...you actually hear a small "pop" and feel the pollinia stick to you.
---Prem