Ecosystem knowledge

Rainforest

These public plant profiles are associated with this ecosystem label. Distribution and growing context remain specific to each plant.

Acostaea costaricensis

Acostaea costaricensis

Cool growing epiphyte, yet heat tolerant. Possesses the ability to flower year-round with pink/yellow tiny (5mm) flowers.

ColombiaCosta RicaEcuador+1

Plant profile

Aerangis luteoalba var. rhodosticta

Miniature African Aerangis from humid riverine and montane forests. Produces arching spikes with crystalline white flowers and a red-orange column, best grown mounted in intermediate to warm, very humid conditions.

CameroonCentral African RepublicDemocratic Republic of the Congo+4

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.

Madagascar

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.

Madagascar

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.

Madagascar

Plant profile

Angraecum distichum

Wide-ranging West and Central African miniature Angraecum from lowland to lower montane forests. Forms distichous leaf fans and produces small, often fragrant flowers in summer under warm, humid, partially shaded conditions.

AngolaBeninCameroon+12

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.

ComorosMadagascar

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.

Madagascar

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.

Madagascar

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.

ComorosMadagascar

Anubias Barteri var. nana

Anubias barteri var. nana

Anubias barteri var. nana is a slow-growing, rhizomatous plant native to West Africa. It is a popular choice for aquariums due to its hardiness and adaptability. The leaves are dark green, oval-shaped, and have a slightly wavy margin. The plant grows to a height of 4-8 inches and a width of 4-6 inches. It can be attached to driftwood or rocks using thread or super glue. Anubias barteri var. nana is a low-maintenance plant that is tolerant of a wide range of water conditions. It prefers moderate to low light levels and does not require CO2 injection.

AngolaCentral African Republic

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.

AlbaniaAndorraArmenia+42

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.

Brazil

Hook-lipped Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum ankylochele

Miniature New Guinea Bulbophyllum with tiny clustered pseudobulbs and arching inflorescences of yellow to orange flowers with a characteristic hooked lip. Found in cool, wet montane forest; in culture it enjoys bright diffuse light, very high humidity and constant moisture with excellent drainage.

Papua New Guinea

Golden Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum chrysotes

Warm-growing miniature from lowland New Guinea forest, producing small pseudobulbs and sprays of yellow to orange flowers with sparkling segments. Best in partial shade, warm temperatures and evenly moist, humid conditions.

Papua New Guinea

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.

BangladeshIndiaIndonesia+6

Japri’s Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum japrii

Recently described micro-miniature from Papua (Indonesia), forming tight mats of tiny pseudobulbs and producing dark red flowers that hover above the foliage. Grows in humid, mossy forest with bright filtered light, intermediate temperatures and constant moisture with good air circulation.

Indonesia

Shaggy-flowered Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum lasianthum

Small epiphytic Bulbophyllum from humid forests of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, bearing umbels of yellow to red, long-fringed flowers. Warm to intermediate grower that prefers full to deep shade, very high humidity and a wet/dry watering cycle.

IndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippines+1

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.

BangladeshIndiaThailand

Sannio Bulbophyllum

Bulbophyllum sannio

Miniature Bulbophyllum from Papua New Guinea with chains of tiny pseudobulbs and yellowish flowers produced freely throughout the year. It enjoys warm, humid, intermediate conditions with partial shade and good air circulation.

Papua New Guinea

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.

BhutanIndiaLaos+2

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.

Brazil