Smitinandia micrantha (Lindl.) Holttum.

Epiphyte. The whole about about 25 to 30 cm in height with stout stem. Leaves oblong, keeled, obliquely truncate and slightly bifid, the base sheathed, as long as 6 to 10 cm long and 2 to 3 cm in width. Racemes leaf opposed, longer than the leaves, the peduncle and rachis stout. Flowers small, sepals and petals pale pink to rose base, lip of the darker shade, opening a few together from the base. Sepals broadly ovate, obtuse, spreading. Petals smaller than the sepals, very narrow, oblong, spreading. Lip fleshy, as long as the sepals with a wide blunt spur adpressed to and as long as the ovary.

Cleisostoma micranthum, (Lindl.) King & Pantl (Smitinandia micrantha (Lindl.) Holttum)
Cleisostoma micranthum (Lindl.) King & Pantl (Smitinandia micrantha (Lindl.) Holttum.)

The Pursuit

Another tropical plant with beautiful small flowers. The plant can easily be spotted at low altitudes. But for my regular visits to the region to look for other species I would have missed this one in flower, as it had bloomed much before than expected. Sir George King and Robert Pantling mentioned its blooming time as July and August, that is the monsoon months of the region, however it is found out that it is not a monsoon bloomer, it blooms much before the rains. I was observing the flowers, to make sure that whether all the buds will be open at the same time or not. The flowers, a few of them together, open from the base.I studied several plants and found that by the time the apex flowers are in bloom the base ones wither away. So I decided to find some fresh flowers (base end ones) in bloom and to document it. Found this particular one and photographed it with precision lighting to get the perfect colouration.