Looking at this beautiful flower fully blown up on the internet, it is hard to believe it is such a small Coelogyne in real life. If you wanted to become a collector, then this is not only a pretty little flower (only 1 cm) but has a really unusual growth habit. The spike continues growing after it has flowered and produces next year's blooms. So don't prune it after flowering! Coelogyne schultesii and Coel longipes are two other members of the small Coelogyne group Prolifera that can do this trick.
Coelogyne prolifera also comes from Nepal, Northeast India and upper Burma at altitudes that get over 2000 metres. .
All too often I see a full-blown photo of an orchid flower and then when I investigate further I find it disappointingly tiny! It's almost like false advertising! Similarly, many books and web sites show a series of flower photos that totally fill their respective picture frames and give the impression they are around the same size. In reality, one flower might be huge and another miniscule. It's tricky trying to compare photos of flowers for size in photo galleries.
Negatives: The flowers are very small resulting in a plant that lacks a wow factor.
Rating: ♦♦ The golden-yellow flowers could be an attraction for any collector.
Sometimes sold as: Coelogyne flavida - a synonym.
Varieties: None known
Hybrids: None registered
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