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Eulophia graminea |
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| Common name |
Chinese crown orchid |
| Family |
orchidaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial |
| Flowers |
purple/white |
| Size |
18-60" |
When I spotted this plant growing in a border alongside my back fence I was excited to find it was a volunteer terrestrial orchid, then disappointed to find out it's considered an invasive species in Florida (which probably means it has the potential to be one here in the Houston area, too), native to (sub)tropical areas of Asia. It's a nice enough little plant, although you have to get up close to appreciate the smallish flowers, featuring a purple-speckled white bottom lip. It reportedly reproduces by offsets from its pseudobulb as well as by seed, which it sets in great quantities and is dispersed by the wind.
Apparently the plant thrives on neglect: a few years later, I found another cluster, again along my fence, growing through and alongside some bricks I use to separate the border soil from the fence wood. This spot gets no supplemental water, and judging from the large size of the exposed bulbs from which they grow, they had lived through both of the super-hot, dry summers we've been subjected to recently. So I salute their steadfastness. It's possible that they are dormant through summer: just like the first sighting, this one happened in autumn (Thanksgiving day, to be precise).
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| | Cluster of large bulbs in second sighting, November 2024 |
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| | Handsome pod |
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| | The plant makes a criss-crossing of older and newer wiry stems, but not much that looks like leaves |
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This is a weed in our garden About my plant portraits
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Last modified:
November 29, 2024
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