The dorsal sepal, petals and lip are very much smaller and this would be an unassuming flower if it were not for the sepals which extend for over 7 in (15 cm). The cirrhopetalums are related to a much larger genus, the bulipphyllurns, and are widely distributed throughout the tropical world.
The genus Cirrhopetalum was first described in 1830; there are about 3o species, and not as many hybrids. Elizabeth Anne `Bucklebury’ AM/RHS is one of the most successful hybrids in the genus and was raised by a famous old firm, Stuart Low Co., in 1969. Its parents are Cirrhopetalum longissima and C. rothschildianum.
Originally it was the wild species which were cultivated, but within the last 130 years the raising of man-made hybrids has taken priority. Many of the species are in a sorry state, being almost extinct in the wild, as their habitat is being rapidly destroyed, but at the same time greatly sought after in collections, where they have become rare items indeed.
Not all species will readily breed in cultivation and the raising of seedlings is often difficult under artificial conditions. Hybrids often have a wider tolerance of artificial conditions and are a much better proposition for the beginner.
It is well known that orchids belong to one of the largest families of plants on earth and that their variety is unsurpassed in the plant kingdom. Their method of growth is a fascinating study in itself: the plants have become so well adapted that they are completely at home in even arctic and temperate regions where they live conventionally in the ground as terrestrials. In warmer tropical and subtropical areas they have developed a completely different method and grow by attaching themselves to trees as epiphytes.
The plants can be found growing at sea level, on the shore line, often subjected to daily salt sprays; others grow very high in mountainous regions, up to 2,000 ft (3,65o m) or more, where snow and frost occur. The orchids are protected from freezing at this altitude by the rarefied atmosphere.
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