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Stormlizard / Articles

Wierd Bananas no, Orchid Psuedo bulbs yes.
But are the Psuedo bulbs of an Orchid.
Yes, I photographed these strange Banana like plant parts in the Botanical gardens in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan in October 2008. As the only indication as to what they were was a small hand written label that was not exactly easy to translate so for a very long time I had no idea as to what they were but was aware that they were certainly not Bananas.


I did eventually find out with help from a Japanese contact here on Ipernity that they are in fact the Psuedo bulbs of an Orchid that is native to South America.
I then searched on Wikipedia to confirm what my friend had given in the way of information and could also download a Photo from Wiki commons.

The Flowers are here; www.ipernity.com/doc/stormlizard/35647867





Bifrenaria, abbreviated Bif. in horticultural trade, is a genus of plants in family Orchidaceae. It contains 20 species found in Panama, Trinidad and South America. There are no known uses for them, but their abundant, and at first glance artificial, flowers, make them favorites of orchid growers. The genus can be split in two clearly distinct groups: one of highly robust plants with large flowers, that encompass the first species to be classified under the genus Bifrenaria; other of more delicate plants with smaller flowers occasionally classified as Stenocoryne or Adipe. There are two additional species that are normally classified as Bifrenaria, but which molecular analysis indicate to belong to different orchid groups entirely. One is Bifrenaria grandis which is endemic to Bolívia and which is now placed in Lacaena, and Bifrenaria steyermarkii, an inhabitant of the northern Amazon Forest, which does not have an alternative classification.

My originally uploaded photo of the Psuedo bulbs was widely commented on and does come up when searching Google for the plant by name.

John.

6 comments

Gracie said:

Maybe the spelling is off when you Google it and that's why it doesn't come up?
7 years ago

Stormlizard replied to Gracie:

I said it does come up Gracie in the same way as when the link in this blog is clicked on including the many comments.
Thanks for commenting.
7 years ago

Jenny McIntyre said:

I thought they were a fruit like the star fruit. I've also seen the orchid flower and it's gorgeous
7 years ago

Stormlizard replied to Jenny McIntyre:

They are more like deformed banans when seen in real life, the Star fruit is much smaller and has a shiney skin.
Yes I saw your comment on the linked photo from long agao.. Thanks for the new comment Jenny,.
7 years ago

Bee Orchid said:

They are strange John, and do look a bit like bananas. Weird plant.
7 years ago

Stormlizard replied to Bee Orchid:

Yes Fran they are strange and do look a bit like a deformed banana. They are Psuedo bulbs that produce a beautiful Orchid, if you did not, you should click the link in the blog and call in the flowers.
7 years ago
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