Mystacidium venosum is found in eastern Cape Province from near Port Elizabeth northward through KwaZulu-Natal Province and Northern Province (Transvaal), with its occurrence also reported in Swaziland.
Mystacidium venosum also called as The Veined Mystacidium, Mystacidium taeniophylloides, is a species of the genus Mystacidium. This species was described by William Henry Harvey & Robert Allen Rolfe in 1912.
IDENTIFY MYSTACIDIUM VENOSUM ORCHID PLANT
Mystacidium venosum is found in eastern Cape Province from near Port Elizabeth northward through KwaZulu-Natal Province and Northern Province (Transvaal), with its occurrence also reported in Swaziland. Plants are found on a variety of host trees in rather varied habitats from near sea level in hot, humid conditions to cooler, moist, mountain forests at elevations up to 1500 m, and they grow both in rather shaded conditions as well as in bright, exposed situations.
It is a miniature sized, warm to cold growing epiphyte with a short stem carrying 2 to 4, deciduous, elliptic to oblanceolate, unequally bilobed apically, venation distinctly darker leaves.
The Veined Mystacidium blooms in the winter, with or without leaves, on a pendant, usually several, densely 4 to 12 flowered, thick, 2.5 to 10 cm long, racemose inflorescence carrying nocturnally, sweetly scented flowers.
MYSTACIDIUM VENOSUM ORCHID PLANT 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:
Mystacidium venosum needs a light level of 18000-35000 lux. Light should be filtered or diffused, and plants should not be exposed to direct midday sun. Strong air movement should be provided at all times. Plants growing in shaded conditions usually have leaves and spurs that are longer than plants grown in brighter light.
Temperature:
Summer days temperature at average 26-27°C, and nights temperature at average 19-20°C, with a diurnal range of 7°C.
Humidity:
The Veined Mystacidium need the humidity of 70-75% most of the year, dropping to near 65% for 2-3 months in winter.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Mystacidium venosum should be mounted on cork or rough-barked slabs. Mounted plants need high humidity, however, and during hot, dry weather they may need several waterings a day.
If it is difficult to keep mounted plants moist enough, they may be grown in a shallow basket using a very open, fast-draining medium that has excellent drainage, is well aerated, and allows the medium to dry rapidly after watering. Using large chunks of cork and/or charcoal in the way that vandas are grown should produce satisfactory results.
Watering:
Rainfall is light to moderate throughout the year, with a somewhat drier period in winter. Cultivated plants should be watered often while actively growing, but drainage should be excellent with the roots allowed to dry out between waterings. Conditions around the roots should never be allowed to become stale or soggy.
Fertilizer:
1/4-1/2 recommended strength, applied weekly when plants are actively growing. You can use a high-nitrogen fertilizer from spring to midsummer and then switch to one high in phosphates in late summer and autumn.
Rest period:
Winter days temperature at average 22°C, and nights average 11-12°C, with a diurnal range of 10-11°C. Water should be reduced for Mystacidium venosum, but they should not be left completely without water for long periods. Occasional early-morning mistings between infrequent light waterings should provide sufficient moisture in most growing areas while also providing the dry winter rest necessary to promote blooming. These plants require a dry winter rest, it does not need to be as long or as severe as the rest provided for Mystacidium braybonae. Fertilizer should be reduced or eliminated until new growth starts and heavier watering is resumed in spring.
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