Sign in Start free
Species library › Bulbophyllum › Bulbophyllum medusae
Orchids Well documented

Bulbophyllum medusae

A creeping epiphytic orchid from lowland and hill forests of Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo, famous for round heads of small cream flowers whose long, thread-like lateral sepals hang like Medusa's hair. Each small pseudobulb carries one leathery leaf up to about 20 cm long. It is warm-growing and easy in a humid, shaded, airy spot.

Bulbophyllum medusae
Photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

An epiphyte in humid, shaded lowland and hill forest, usually on mid-trunk or main branches where the bark stays moist but drains well.

Lowland and hill forest. Few records carry an elevation, so this was not measured.

Peninsular ThailandPeninsular MalaysiaSumatraBorneoVietnam (per Kew)

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Bulbophyllum medusae? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum longiflorum Bulbophyllum gracillimum Bulbophyllum argyropus Bulbophyllum baileyi Bulbophyllum fenestratum Bulbophyllum macphersonii Bulbophyllum maxillare Bulbophyllum minutissimum Bulbophyllum raulersoniae Bulbophyllum schillerianum Bulbophyllum shepherdii Bulbophyllum teretifolium All 2219 →

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 2.5 licence, unmodified.