Bulbophyllum spathulatum
A creeping Cirrhopetalum-type Bulbophyllum found from the eastern Himalaya to Indochina. It bears umbels of more than 20 purplish-red flowers in October from pseudobulbs spaced 10–11 cm apart along a stout rhizome. It grows on tree trunks in monsoon broad-leaved forest at about 800–1,000 m, so it needs a warm, wet summer and a cool, drier winter. It also needs a long mount to creep along.
Where it grows wild
Flora of China records it on tree trunks in broad-leaved forest at 800–900 m. A Thai specimen was collected 'on trees in open rocky ground' at 1,000 m, and Himalayan labels say 'tropical valleys'. That describes an epiphyte of fairly open monsoon forest, not deep shade.
Flora of China gives 800–900 m and specimens reach about 1,000 m. Wikipedia gives 1,000–2,000 m. Two sensor-derived Himalayan records sit at 350 m. The measured sites were corrected to 577–1,029 m.
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More Bulbophyllum
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