Bulbophyllum globuliforme
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Genus: Bulbophyllum | ||||||||||||||
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Bulbophyllum globuliforme Nicholls & Nicholls |
The species Bulbophyllum globuliforme is an epiphyte and grows in subtropical rainforest in Australia's northeast in a variety of habitats including warm temperate rainforest, dry rainforest and wet sclerophyll forests.
One of the smallest orchid species known, the tiny pseudobulbs are about the size of a pinhead and each has a tiny reduced thread-like leaf at the apex. It can form quite extensive mats on tree trunks. Flowering occurs during spring mainly (September to November). Flowers are cream, rarely flushed with red, and are carried on a solitary stem in the axils of stem bracts.
A very similar species is the closely related Bulb. minutissimum. This related species possesses small hollow pseudobulbs that contain stomata (organs for gas exchange) on their inner surface. This minimizes the surface area and the danger of loss of water by transpiration.