Xylobium subintegrum
Xylobium subintegrum is a large growing plant and it produces masses of flowers as the recently matured bulbs produce up the three flower spikes (up to 1m long) alongside the new growths as they emerge in autumn.
Xylobium is a genus of terrestrial and epiphytic orchids from South and Central America and we have seen Xylobium species in Brazil and Guatemala.
Xylobium subintegrum is a cool growing epiphyte from Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru where it grows in cool wet forest from 1700 to 2000m altitude. It is a robust plant with large pseudobulbs and thick large leaves.
The long flower spikes each with ten to twenty attractive flowers and prominent bracts. The flower spikes are unusual as they grow towards the light in wahatever direction they find it are this makes them a little unruly. You can see here that the four flower spikes have travelled pretty much horizontally from the plant (the plant at the back not at the front) towards our large Velux windows.
We resist the urge to stake the spikes as they look very attractive doing their own thing and showing the plants character.
The flowering habit also indicates things about the species' microhabitat where it is reasonable to assume that plants grow in low light if the flower spikes are so keen to find brighter light.
We provide a perfect replica of that habitat with our plant indoors near a window but out of direct light.
The red striped lip is really spectacular if you can find a flower that is looking at you.