Gift from the fallen

Years ago a fallen tree branch from the forest yielded a big rotting clump of orchid on the ground from which I made a cutting and nursed it back to health. Since its full recovery , the Coelogyne pandurata had been rewarding me with this bloom year after year.

This is a large orchid from SE Asia and is often called "Black Orchid" by some due to the fierce looking dark markings on its lips. Although some vendors tried to pull a fast one by touting it to be rare its is actually quite common in lowland forests although it may not always be free flowering.