Restrepia brachypus is native to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. In Colombia, these plants meet in many locations both on the eastern and western side of the Cordilleras, usually at an altitude of 1500-2500 m...
Restrepia brachypus also called as The Short-Column Foot Restrepia, Pleurothallis hawkesii, Renanthera striata, Restrepia antennifera, Restrepia antennifera subsp. striata, Restrepia hawkesii, Restrepia striata, is a species of the genus Restrepia. This species was described by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach in 1886.
IDENTIFY RESTREPIA BRACHYPUS
Restrepia brachypus is native to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. In Colombia, these plants meet in many locations both on the eastern and western side of the Cordilleras, usually at an altitude of 1500-2500 m. They are also found in numerous sites in Ecuador, mainly on the eastern side of the Andes, at an altitude of 1500 -3200 m. In Venezuela, these plants were found only near Mérida, at an altitude of 1980 m. In Peru and Bolivia, the plants were met only on individual sites. In Peru, they were encountered in the Huánuco department. In Bolivia, they were met in a wet forest northeast of Cochabamba, at an altitude of about 1800 m.
It is a miniature sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte, which reaching a height of 9-24 cm, with erect, 5-16 cm long ramicauls enveloped completely by several inflated sheaths and carrying a single, apical, broadly elliptical, 4-8 cm long leaf.
The Short-Column Foot Restrepia blooms on a terminal, erect, threadlike, 12 cm long, single flowered inflorescence that has sheathed bracts on the ramicaul, occurring in the winter and spring. The flowers are 4.3-7.5 cm in diameter. The flowers are 4.3-7.5 cm in diameter. The lower half of the dorsolus usually has 5 longitudinal nerves with red-brown veins running down from each side of the central nerve. The lateral outer petals merge together almost the entire length, forming a shallow concave elliptical plaque. These lateral flakes are sharp at the apex and have a small incision at the end of the plaque, where the outer petals are not connected. They are yellow, yellow-orange or light-brown with longitudinal brown stripes. Small, membranous petals of the inner whorl, transparent white, have venation and are more or less stained in red-purple. The lip is yellowish with 3 distinct longitudinal stripes marked with red-brown spots on each side. The apical part of the lip is covered with protruding warts, and its banks have tassels. The part at the base is slightly rounded and concave, and the edges are thin and straight. It is connected to a stiff, cylindrical neck. The spine is greenish-white, slender, clavateous.
RESTREPIA BRACHYPUS CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Restrepia brachypus needs a light level of 18000-25000 lux. The light should be slightly filtered or scattered, and the plants should not be exposed to direct sunlight in the afternoon hours. Strong air movement should be ensured all the time.
Temperature:
Similar throughout the year - the average daytime temperatures are 24-26 ° C, average night temperatures 11-13 ° C with an amplitude of daily variations of 11-14 ° C.
Humidity:
The Short-Column Foot Restrepia needs the humidity of 70-75% throughout the year.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Restrepia brachypus grow well in small plastic pots with any relatively small substrate for orchids that drains excess water well. They grow well also when tightly fixed on a tree fern rootstock, cork or on pieces of branches. However, if you are assembling them, a moss pad should be wrapped around the roots. This cultivation also requires maintaining high humidity, and in the summer of daily watering. In the case of such suspended plants, during the dry and hot periods it may be necessary to water several times a day.
These plants do not tolerate the unfolded substrate and should be repotted as soon as the substrate begins to decompose or grow out of the pots. If repotting is done at the time when new roots begin to appear, the plant will be accepted and rooted in the shortest possible time.
Watering:
Throughout the year, rainfall is moderate and even abundant, with a 2-3-month drier season in winter. During active growth, the plants should be watered frequently. Although the roots should dry a little between subsequent waterings, they can never be completely dry. It should also ensure an appropriate condition of the ground around the roots - the substrate can not be soggy or damp.
Fertilizer:
During the active growth of the plants should be fertilized every week 1/4-1/2 of the recommended dose of fertilizer for orchids. You can use balanced fertilizer throughout the year, but also can use fertilizer with increased nitrogen content from spring to mid summer, and then in the late summer and autumn, use a fertilizer with a higher content of phosphorus.
Rest period:
In winter, the amount of water can be somewhat reduced, especially if the Restrepia brachypus are grown under dark, short days, which occurs at moderate latitudes. However, never let it completely dry up. If watering is limited, fertilization should also be reduced.
COMMENTS