The beautiful (but indecently-scented) Cirrhopetalum surigaense

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It's that time of the year again for this plant to display its fireworks, though I must warn you not to come too close or you might find the odor quite offensive! I have seen ants and flies visit the individual blooms, but never butterflies, which are known to be attracted to more pleasant scents. Cirrhopetalum surigaense*, despite its species name, is quite a widespread orchid, having been found in some southern Luzon provinces, as well as the islands of Mindoro and Leyte, and of course, Surigao del Norte. These plants flower only once a year, and those in my collection do so from late January to early February.




Compared to many other cirrhopetalums, this species is easily distinguishable even when not in flower by way of its dark green, very rigid leaves. These are oblong to oblong-elliptic in shape and are up to 7.5 cm. long with a width of 2.8 cm. The stoutly spindle-shaped ribbed, yellowish pseudobulbs are up to 3.5 cm. high by 1 cm. in diameter and are separated at 4 to 6 cm. intervals on the creeping rhizomes. The sub-horizontal inflorescences arise from the base of the pseudobulbs and reach a length of up to 15 cm. with a nodding, slightly loose rachis of up to around 17 flowers. The flowers are 3.7 cm long, white and with an orange labellum. As the flowers age, they begin to develop brown spots, particularly on the dorsal sepals.
The type specimen was in flower during the month of September. Plants from Aurora usually bloom during late February to early March, while Quezon specimens flower during January, rarely December. 

Okay, I know I said on the title above that it's 'indecently-scented' and I gotta be honest with you: those flowers smell like semen.




The creeping habit means that this species is best suited to cultivation on slabs of wood or on poles, in humid, brightly lit locations, though away from strong noontime sun. They require frequent watering and good air circulation. These plants are very easy to grow in lowland to intermediate conditions!




There are actually two species in there. One is C. cumingii, which isn't in bloom.


This species has one very close relative, which also occurs in the Philippines, C. vaginatum. The main difference between the two is that the petals of C. surigaense are studded with fine papillae all throughout. So yeah, we have these two similar orchids- one that smells of man-juice and the other referred to as the Vagina Orchid. Nice.


*This species was originally named as Bulbophyllum surigaense by Oakes Ames and Eduardo Quisumbing in 1934. In 2007 I transferred it to Cirrhopetalum, but due to the present status quo, most prefer to refer to this plant under Bulbophyllum. I still stand by my decision to call this a Cirrhopetalum, but that is quite another story.

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