This bird was spotted behind my house today perched upon a branch. Its the Large-tailed Nightjar(Caprimulgus macrurus), which is most often heard at night. It makes a call which resembles a loud "knocking" sound which can be heard from quite a distance.
This plant is a member of the Ginger family and produces beautiful small flowers. Theres a common type G. leucantha ( white flowers) which can be found in the Bukit Timah nature reserve park.
This particular specimen was collected near a waterfall in Penang's Balik Pulau area.
The beautiful flower of C. celebensis is once again present on the plant. It was attacked by a squirrel which chewed through parts of the plant's pseudobulb, weakening it and it took a long time to recover.
This is one of two plants of recently purchased P. amboinensis flava. This batch of amboinensis came from Taiwan and is reasonably priced compared to twenty years ago when the flava form could sell for $2000 per plant.
This is a Vanda bought from OSEA's booth at Hort Park a couple of years ago. Almost forgotten until it flowered recently.
This phalaenopsis's name seems to suggest that it is found only in Sumatra but in fact according to some websites it can also be found in Borneo, Peninsula Malaysia, as well as the Philippines.
This plant has narrower and shorter leaves compared to the previous type.
Flower spike now bears 3 scented flowers.
This is a red form of Cymbidium ensifolium which is commonly known as the " Four Season Orchid" or 四季兰 in Chinese. The name of this variety is "红宝石‘’.
A few days later......
Bought this plant from Penang. The petals and sepals are light green when the flower bud first opens but they will soon turn white.
This should be a Four-lined Tree Frog (Polypedates leucomystax) which is very common in Singapore and makes loud croaking noise at night.
This came as a surprise when one morning i discovered that one of my newly acquired plants of cornu-cervi turned out to be golden in color.
This is the first time that I see this terrestrial orchid with flower. I was told it was once quite abundant in Singapore especially along the old railway track. Nowadays it can be found in a few remote areas of Singapore, such as Lower and Upper Pierce reservoir as well as Mount Faber Park. But you need to open your eyes to spot them when not in bloom.
Recently I became interested in Vanda species especially those from Java and surrounding islands. Found this beautiful specimen of V. limbata blooming in the garden of our veteran orchid grower Mr Koh Keng Hoe.
This is Coelogyne pandurata. A very old plant in my collection.
This is Coelogyne mayeriana, also from a long time ago.
This plant of Coelogyne paltaste is a recent addition from Neo Cheng Soon nursery.
Another plant of this variety is blooming after a long period of neglect. Very intense colour and comes with a spicier fragrance compared to P. bellina.
An intensely colored specimen of P. violacea var. indigo. This variety appeared on the market many years ago but the first few generations were of pale indigo coloration. Recently more intense colored version is available at much lower price.
Vanda tessellata has many colour variations. This one is brownish-orange in colour and has a similarly colored lip. It has a strange smelling fragrance which I am not sure how to describe. Online description says "lilac".
Another Cattleya flowered a couple of days ago. Maybe the recent rain and cooler nights is working wonders. This species is from Venezuela, Guyana and surrounding areas.
