Platystele misera

Platystele misera is another of our mini-miniature orchids. Misera means insignificant which seems very harsh on this pretty miniature species found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. (Perhaps the English botanist John Lindley was having a bad day when he named it!) Anyway, we love its little 1mm diaphanous flowers with a deep red lip, the floriferous nature. It flowers profusely in a 6cm pot and over time makes a wonderful tiny specimen plant. Once mature plants are almost always in flower as the new year's spikes start to flower before last years flower spikes finish.

As with most of our miniatures from the cloud forests of South America, Platystyele misera thrives when well watered in our Cloud Forest Greenhouse (Min 12C) but is equally at home in a shaded terrarium or orchid case.