Nanodes medusae 'Inca Red'

Nanodes medusae is named for the Greek mythological creature who had snakes for hair. The large lip of this flowers is reminiscent of the creature with its wavy snake like appendages surrounding the lip. This species is native to Ecuador and Peru growing on mossy tree branches in cool to intermediate temps. The flowers can emerge anywhere between spring and summer and can appear whenever the growths are at the right stage for flower development. The flowers are long lasting and appear on the end of the strap leafed growths in clusters of 2 flowers. This particular clone we raised from seed grown by the now defunct Great Lakes Orchids (Alexis Linder) in flasks. These have been known to be difficult to grow from see but we discovered that if you grow them in moss in warm Phalaenopsis conditions they thrive. When the plants are larger you can move them to cooler conditions to induce flowering, These like good light so that the foliage has a little of a reddish tinge to it especially in the spring and summer months. The plant has a clumping nature and will produce side growths over time. We find that New Zealand Sphagnum moss works best and when the plants are larger they can be put in baskets with moss. This is a rare species rarely available for sale.