Named by Louis-Marie Aubert Du Petit-Thouars in 1822, and belonging to the tribe Dendrobieae, the Bulbophyllum genus derives its name from ancient Greek, from the words bulbos, meaning bulb, and phyllon, meaning leaf. Species of the Bulbophyllum genus are closely related to those of the Cirrhopetalum genus, and together they are considered the orchid genera with the most species. Taxonomically, at least 25 related genera are known, the most common being Cirrhopetalum, Ione, Mastigion, Megaclinium, Rhytionanthos, and Trias.
With plants generally small to medium-sized, although some species can easily exceed lengths of over one meter, species of the Bulbophyllum genus have a creeping habit, with sympodial growth, pseudobulbs remarkable in size compared to the size of the flowers and leaves, which have a fleshy, waxy, leathery texture, generally bearing one, and less frequently two, apically inserted leaves.
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The shape of the flowers is extremely variable, with sizes ranging from 2 mm to 400 mm. A common feature is the presence of an articulated labellum, which plays a role in pollination, where the labellum is practically used as a lever, catapulting pollinators, usually small flies, towards the pollinia and the stigma surface. The flowers generally have a short lifespan of 5–7 days but compensate for this with repeated blooming. Some species and hybrids have fragrant flowers, although their scent is not always pleasant, sometimes reminiscent of the smell of old cheese.
Currently, it is considered that the Bulbophyllum genus includes over 2000 predominantly tropical and subtropical species, with some species also present in temperate climates. Over 25 species are found in South and Central America, up to the Caribbean area, while most are found in equatorial Africa, Madagascar, Asia, from the foothills of the Himalayas to Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. New Guinea is considered the center of origin of the species, with over 600 species found on this island.
Most species of the genus Bulbophyllum prefer warm climates, with winter temperatures not dropping below 15 ℃ , and daytime temperatures in the warm season ranging between 23 – 27 ℃ . Good ventilation is essential and necessary for the successful cultivation of species of the genus Bulbophyllum.
The orchids Bulbophyllum and Cirrhopetalum love light, not necessarily intense, requiring slight shading of the plants and protection from direct sunlight rays in the summer season. In general, light radiation values will fall within the range of 20000 – 35000 lux, these values clearly favoring abundant flowering.
The atmospheric humidity required for cultivation is medium, with values around 60%, a common characteristic of indoor cultivation. Waterings will be frequent, as both plants mounted on plaques and those planted in pots prefer abundant water, to a greater extent than most other orchid genera. While it is generally recommended not to water, in case of doubt, species of the genus Bulbophyllum are the exception to this rule in orchid growing.
Fertilizations will be carried out regularly, with every watering, weekly, but will be stopped for a month during the cold period.
Species of the genus Bulbophyllum prefer minimal mounts, either on cork plaques or bark, or in pots, with small to medium-sized bark, sphagnum moss, perlite, charcoal, pieces of coconut fiber, or compost. They can be divided and transplanted preferably when excessive growth of the plants outside the pots is noticed.
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