Gongora R. & P.
This morning, when I came into the greenhouse, the long pendent stems of a Gongora had opened – talk about weird flowers! They look like birds of prey, 3 cm long, diving down on a hapless victim with claws extended.
 Gongora atropurpurea |
During the 18th century, the Spanish explorers H. Ruiz and J. Pavon, on the orders of the Spanish king, travelled through South America to discover new plants and describe them for scientists. One genus of plants they found was named in honour of the then Viceroy of New Granada (now Peru and Ecuador), Don Antonio Caballero y Gongora who later became the Bishop of Cordoba. This name also appears in the collective name “Gongorinae” which includes related genera like Catasetum, Cycnoches, Mormodes, Coryanthes and Stanhopea. All these orchids can be said to have unusual, even bizarre looking flowers. Depending on which authors’ articles you read, there are between 12 to 52 different species of Gongora. They grow in the area from Mexico through Central America to Peru and all the way across the Northern parts of South America, even in Trinidad. Dr. Rudolf Jenny from Switzerland specializes in this group of plants and he has published a lovely book to teach us what is what in the Genus Gongora.
The plants themselves look a lot like compact Stanhopeas; they have roundish pseudobulbs and stiff, pleated, oval leaves. The inflorescences hang down and there can be from eight to forty flowers on each stem. These flowers grow upside-down (non-resupinate) with the lip uppermost; they can be white, yellow, orange, pink, red, brown or purple, mostly spotted, measure from three to six centimetres across, are often sweetly fragrant and can last from five to fifteen days. They may bloom sporadically through summer and fall.
The shape of the individual flower is almost impossible to describe (unless you are a taxonomist). One could say that they look like a swarm of bees or a congregation of vultures, hovering over some unfortunate meal. Others look like a swirl of slender insects, gracefully dancing in the breeze.
To grow Gongoras successfully, you should keep them warm and wet from March through October, then a little cooler with less water and fertilizer, always with good light and good air circulation; give them small but regular doses of 10-10-10. Do keep these plants hanging so that you, too, can have your own, personal flights of bumble bees (or vultures) to enjoy.
Ingrid Schmidt-Ostrander - Canadian Orchid Congress