Lepanthes, Jewels of the Orchid World

Lepanthes is a genus of orchids from Central and South America with well over 800 species in the genus. It is known for its colorful flowers, which are often very intricate, very odd-shaped and very colorful, though sometimes very small. The flowers can be several centimeters in size, but are often only a few millimeters. Even the tiniest flowers, however, are amazing when viewed under a magnifying glass, or photographed with a macro lens. They can well be thought of as the jewels of the orchid world.

L. escobarina

L. orion

L. niesseniae

L. ophioglossa and L. ingridiana

L. telipogoniflora

L. elegantula

L. caprimulgus

L. hirtzii

L. gargoyla

L. cochlearifolia and L. unidentified species

L. felix

L. discolor

L. pastoensis

L. velicata

L. stenophylla

L. agglutinata and L. meniscophora

L. calodyction

L. hirsuta

Note: the last two photos are not mine.  They are AOS awards photos and I have no idea who the photographers were.  If I am using them improperly I would be more than ready to apologize and remove them.