Moist forest

Chenille plant

Acalypha hispida

Other names: Philippine medusa, Red hot cat tail. It can grow to be 1.5–3.7 m, and have a spread of 0.91–1.83 m, with potted plants being the smallest in growth. It can be grown from seeds as well as from cuttings. The plant is dioecious, and therefore there are distinct male and female members of the species. The female plant bears pistillate flowers which are 0.7 millimeters long and range in color from purple to bright red, and grow in clusters along catkins that can grow up to 50cm or more in length. This feature is the primary reason the plant bears the nickname “red-hot cat tail”. The pistillates will grow all year long as long as the temperatures are favorable. The leaves are large, oval and bright green to reddish copper.

Plant profile

Aerangis macrocentra

Small Madagascan Aerangis from lowland to montane forests. Grows in partial shade with intermediate temperatures and high humidity, producing elegant white spurred flowers in summer and autumn.

Plant profile

Angraecum alleizettei

Small Madagascan Angraecum from cool montane forests. Prefers bright light, cool to intermediate temperatures and very humid air, producing starry white flowers with a long spur from summer into winter.

Plant profile

Angraecum ankeranense

Miniature Madagascan Angraecum from cool to intermediate elevations. Grows in bright light with high humidity and good air movement, flowering in spring and summer with white, spurred blooms.

Plant profile

Angraecum arachnites

Spider-like miniature Angraecum from cool, very shady montane forests of Madagascar. Thrives in low light with cool, constantly humid conditions and can flower throughout the year.

Didier's Angraecum

Angraecum didieri

Fragrant miniature Angraecum from Madagascar, occurring from warm to cool submontane forests. Grows best in partial shade with high humidity and a slightly drier, cooler rest in winter, blooming in spring.

Plant profile

Angraecum leonis

Compact Angraecum with thick, leathery leaves and large, starry ivory flowers. Native to humid forests of Madagascar and the Comoros from lowland to montane elevations, blooming mainly from winter into autumn in partial shade and high humidity.

Oblong Leaf Angraecum

Angraecum oblongifolium

Miniature, pendant Angraecum from humid montane forests of southeastern Madagascar. Grows cool in partial shade with high humidity and good air movement, producing oblong leaves and delicate starry flowers in autumn.

Pink Angraecum pectinatum

Angraecum pectinatum 'Pink'

Small Madagascan Angraecum with fan-shaped, grass-like leaves and elegant white to pink-tinged star flowers. In nature it grows from lowland to lower montane evergreen forest, in humid, moving air. Ideal for intermediate conditions with constant moisture and good drainage.

Pine-leaved Angraecum

Angraecum pinifolium

Miniature Madagascan Angraecum with thin, pine-needle leaves and delicate white spurred flowers. It comes from humid mid-elevation forest around 900 m, preferring cool to intermediate temperatures, deep shade and very high humidity with gentle air movement.

Scott’s Angraecum

Angraecum scottianum

Epiphytic Angraecum from moist montane forests of Madagascar and the Comoros, with stiff, distichous leaves and showy white, spurred flowers that open in the cooler, brighter months. Grows best in bright filtered light, cool to intermediate temperatures and very humid, well-ventilated air.

Plant profile

Asplenium ruta-muraria

Asplenium ruta-muraria is a small fern from temperate regions across Europe, East Asia and North America. It can be found on calcerous walls.

Plant profile

Barbosella miersii

In the shaded, moss-covered branches of Brazil’s humid Atlantic rainforest in Southeastern Brazil (States: São Paulo, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul), grows one of the world’s tiniest orchids. Barbosella miersii creeps in delicate mats, its almost microscopic flowers rising on slender stalks above the leaves. Though diminutive in size, this orchid embodies tenacious life in the humid forest canopy—a whisper of beauty in miniature form. Cultivate it mounted on bark or cork with live moss, maintain steady moisture and good airflow, keep light filtered and cool-bright rather than direct. The reward: a living mosaic of green and tiny blooms that invite closer, contemplative viewing.

Plant profile

Bulbophyllum ambrosia

Hidden Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum clandestinum

Widely distributed epiphytic Bulbophyllum from humid forests of South and Southeast Asia into the western Pacific. Plants form creeping chains of pseudobulbs that carry a single leaf, producing small, often hidden flowers close to the rhizome. Intermediate temperatures, medium light and consistently moist, humid conditions suit it best.

Oblong Trias

Bulbophyllum oblongum

Cool to intermediate epiphyte from lower montane forests of northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand. It carries clustered oblong pseudobulbs and small leaves, with short inflorescences of yellow to orange flowers. Prefers partial shade, high humidity and good air movement.

Sheathed Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum spathulatum

Cool to intermediate miniature from the eastern Himalayas and Indochina, growing on mossy branches between 1000 to 2000 m. It carries short, sheathed pseudobulbs and produces umbels of pink to orange flowers on slender stems. Best in partial shade, high humidity and evenly moist but airy media.

Papaya

Carica quercifolia

The stem will grow to 60 centimetres in diameter and reach from 3-5m. It preferring a well drained soil with some water and some sun. The flowers are greenish-yellow. The genera name means from the leaves resembles with fig-leaves. The species name means 'with leaves like the oaks'.

Centroglossa macroceras

Centroglossa macroceras

Tiny Brazilian epiphyte from cool to intermediate Atlantic cloud forests, forming small fans of leaves and producing disproportionately large, spurred yellow flowers. Best mounted in low to moderate light with high humidity and frequent watering, but good drainage.

Green Parish’s Chiloschista

Chiloschista parishii 'Green'

Leafless Chiloschista form with greenish, colourful flowers on arching spikes, found in hot to warm lowland forests from India and Nepal to Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Grows best mounted in bright light with intermediate temperatures, frequent watering and very high humidity.

Asian Ghost Orchid

Chiloschista usneoides

Cool-growing leafless Chiloschista from montane forests of the western and eastern Himalayas and northern Thailand, typically at 1600 to 1700 m. Plants form pendent curtains of roots that carry many pale green flowers with white lips and a sweet fragrance. Needs bright filtered light, very high humidity and cool to intermediate temperatures.

Plant profile

codonanthe devosiana

Codonanthe devosiana is native to the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. As part of the Gesneriaceae (African violet) family, it grows as an epiphyte—meaning it roots into tree bark and often naturally coexists with tree-dwelling ants.

Enchanting Dendrobium

Dendrobium bellatulum

Miniature member of section Formosae from montane forests of the eastern Himalaya, southern China and Indochina, usually on tree trunks between about 900-2100 m. Short canes carry a few leaves and produce large, white, tubular flowers with a yellow throat and purple markings. Best grown cool to intermediate with high humidity, medium light, and a distinct drier, brighter winter rest to encourage flowering.

Benson’s Dendrobium

Dendrobium bensoniae

Medium-sized epiphyte from moist forests of northeastern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and nearby regions, typically on trees in lowland to lower montane forest around 500-1500 m. Canes are erect to pendulous and bear showy white flowers with a yellow and purple lip near the nodes. In cultivation it enjoys intermediate temperatures, bright filtered light, high humidity and a marked drier winter period after leaf fall.