Anguloa, the Tulip Orchid, in the Greenhouse

Denver Botanic Gardens’ orchid collection consists of nearly 1,000 species from over 280 genera. Many of these plants are rotated onto public display but there are specimens in our collections that don’t often make it out of our collection greenhouses. Hopefully, this blog will provide a bit of virtual access to the plants in the Gardens’ orchid collection.

Anguloa is a small genus of mainly terrestrial orchids found at relatively high elevations in several South American countries. The common name Tulip Orchid seems obvious considering the shape of the flowers. Plants are generally found growing in leaf litter on the forest floor and are deciduous. Flowers appear with new vegetative growth after a short dormant period and each inflorescence holds a single flower. Proper identification can be tricky as there are several naturally occurring hybrids creating some color variation and blurring geographical populations.