''Bulbophyllum beccarii'' is by far the largest species in the genus ''
Bulbophyllum'' and one of the largest in the
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
family.
The thick
rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
, reportedly up to 20 cm in diameter (but the thickest reliably reported has been five cm.) snakes its way around tree trunks climbing up into the light. Along its length at intervals are the relatively small egg shaped
pseudobulbs each with a huge thick, leathery leaf at their apex. They are up to 60 cm long and 20 cm wide, yellowish-green and point vertically. The huge bowl shaped leaves are designed to catch falling debris and turn it into fertilizers. The
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
is produced from the rhizome near one of the pseudobulbs and hangs downwards to about 20–22 cm and is composed of hundreds of small yellowish flowers netted with red that smell like rotting meat to attract various flies.
It grows in the
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
s of
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulbophyllum Beccarii
Orchids of Borneo
beccarii
Plants described in 1879