Microcoelia exilis Pinhead Orchid Iphamba
Description
Microcoelia exilis is a monopodial leafless epiphytic orchid with an extensive branching root system with long roots resembling an untidy bird’s nest hanging from the branch of a tree. The roots grow into open clumps that allow a maximum amount of light to reach all of the roots. The grey roots with orange growing tips contain the chlorophyll that aids in photosynthesis.
Plants have a stem from which masses
of very small, white flowers, the smallest of all orchid flowers naturally
growing in South Africa are borne on a very long flowering stem.
There is a very distinctive spherical spur present
The flower stems of Microcoelia exilis are slender, arching and drooping, becoming from 6 cm to 12 cm long with time. The inflorescences emerge from below new roots.
From 20 to 80 tiny white flowers may be found in one spike,
a flower less than 2 mm in diameter. A brownish anther cap is visible in each
flower centre. There is a very distinctive spherical spur present, 1 mm in diameter.
Flowering can occur nearly throughout the year, mostly from mid-summer
to early autumn.
Exilis means thin, weak or meagre in Latin, probably referring to the inflorescence.
Distribution and habitat
Microcoelia is an orchid genus consisting of 31 species
endemic to Africa.
The species Microcoelia exilis is an epiphytic perennial that grows primarily
in the seasonally dry tropical biome.
Its range includes South Africa , Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Madagascar where it grows on the small branches and twigs of trees in gallery forests, woodland, secondary forests and plantations, at elevations of up to about 1,800 m (6,000 ft)
In the South Africa I have found Microcoelia exilis growing in Sand Forest, a region of ancient dunes northern KwaZulu-Natal in deep shade on Cola greenwayi and Drypetes arguta. In the Durban area I have seen them growing on Syzygium cordatum, and in deep shade on Mangifera indica (mango)
Cultural uses
In South Africa it is used as a love charm.
Cultivation
I have grown these orchids in Durban South Africa for nearly
50 years both outdoors as well as more recently indoors. Microcoelia exilis is
an easy to grow epiphyte that possesses a nearly complete disregard for
whatever it might be mounted on. An occasional root or two might attach to its
host to stabilize its growth but the vast majority of the plant thrives in the
open air. In cultivation they can be suspended tied to a piece of string,
placed on a piece of plastic mesh, tied to a wooden mount or simply placed on top
of an empty pot which has a stone placed into it to give it stability. I have
even grown them to a potted shrub.
They grow easily and well under both low, medium and high
light intensities requiring plenty of water and very little feeding, in fact
too high concentrations of feed very easily damage or kill them, be sure to
soak them frequently in pure water to remove any salt concentrations that may
collect on your plant.
My plants are watered daily, a few times a month I add a
very dilute amount of feed to the water followed the next day with a heavy
drench of water or I soak the plant in a bucket of water for 15 minutes to
remove any excessive accumulation of salts from the roots.
