Code: BULB.0x0001 (2010-06-07)
Common Name: The Purple Bulbophyllum (refers to the leaves)
Scented: no
Light Requirements: deep shade
Temperature Requirements: hot
Blooms: spring, summer and autumn
Flower Size: 1.25cm (variable)
Synonyms: Bulbophyllum citrinum (Ridl.) Ridl. 1907; Bulbophyllum curtisii Ridl. 1903[non1911,12]; Bulbophyllum perakense Ridl. 1903; Bulbophyllum rhizophoreti Ridl. 1924; Bulbophyllum tenasserimense J.J. Sm. 1912; Cirrhopetalum citrinum Ridl. 1895; Cirrhopetalum compactum Rolfe 1895; Cirrhopetalum lendyanum Rchb. f. 1887; Cirrhopetalum pallidum Schltr. 1906; Phyllorchis purpurascens (Teijsm. & Binn.) Kuntze 1891
A species of Thailand, Burma and the island of Java, Borneo and Sumatra in lowland and lower montane forests on tree trunks and tree branches, often overhanging water, at elevations of sea-level to 1700 meters as a miniature sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte, that has ovoid, smooth and shiny in youth and angular with age, unifoliate pseudobulbs, single, apical, tough and leathery, elliptic, deciduous leaves and a slender, erect, bracteate, to 18cm long, inflorescence which arises from an older pseudobulb carrying an umbel of 10 to 19, close-set flowers at the apex and held well above the leaf occurring in the spring, summer and autumn. This species grows well in pots with hot temperatures, deep shade and needs ample moisture and fertilizer to bloom well.