Here they are... re-emerging after a long, hot and dry season. with the rains starting to fall again, these little corybas or helmet orchids are beginning to put out new shoots from the tiny tubers buried in the carpet of moss.
Each tuber appears to put out only one single leaf from which a flower will appear. From my observation over the years, it appears that during the dry season, they disappear from sight, dropping their leaves till the next monsoon arrives.
Fascinating to see them "carpet" the ground one season, then disappear the next, only to reappear again the following rainy season.
However, there will always be a few who didn't get the memo so it's not surprising to see one or two during the hottest months, albeit in bad shape.
Here's a quick video I made of Corybas orchids in their natural habitat:
Corybas are also known as Helmet Orchids because the shape of their flowers resemble small little helmets. It is their flowering season right now and they will continue to flower all throughout the rainy season.
This was the first flowering one we saw.
This species is found abundantly in southern Sarawak. It is different to the species with similar foliage in Sabah, Corybas pictus. I am not entirely sure but the ones photographed and pictured here could be Corybas crenulatus, but don’t quote me on that!
After that initial flowering one, many more popped up left and right.
That little green spot in the middle is a Corybas. This little one was growing in a very dark spot so it grew tall and lanky to catch the light.
Note how tall it is! It was about 5 or 6 cm tall. Normal ones growing in normal conditions with sufficient light are only about 2cm tall.
This one is growing in an unusual place. Nearly buried in leaf litter and away from their usual limestone cliff home, it’s keeping a lone mushroom company on the forest floor.
Note the small Corybas plants in the middle of the picture.
It was really so amazing to see so many of them, and many were flowering too.
This was one of the biggest I came across. It was about an inch long and about 2cm wide.
Note that small, cute little one flowering in the top left corner of the photo.
Two are about to bloom. The flowers are not fully developed yet.
The long filamentous petals make it look like the flower’s dancing.
Hope you all enjoyed the photos of this beautiful tiny species as much as I enjoyed photographing them in their natural habitat.
These are some of the world's smallest orchids and one of my favorite genera. So far, I have had the opportunity to photograph only three different species in their natural habitats.
Corybas are also known as Helmet Orchids.
The first one is Corybas crenulatus. They are often found growing in limestone areas in elevations of about 60 meters asl and above.
This is a common species around Kuching and goes through a dormant period where the plants shed all their leaves during the dry season. All that's left are tiny round tubers buried in the moss. When the rains begin to fall again, they will sprout anew and begin to flower few months after the leaf attains maturity. This is from what I have observed after several trips to their habitat. In some places, they grow like mushrooms after the rain by the hundreds and one has to be very careful where he treads so as not to squash them.
Like graceful dancers.
Sometimes, they can be found on steep rock walls growing on debris trapped in crevices.
This is my favorite species of the three I have come across in the wild so far. The flower of this species very much resembles a helmet, hence, Helmet Orchids.
Tiny but beautiful.
The second species which I have had the opportunity to see in situ is Corybas carinatus (an ID suggested to me from an old flower photo taken by a friend).
Natural habitat, wet mossy area with lots of forest debris.
Unlike C. crenulatus, this particular one is found in mountains in elevations far above sea level. I came across a very small and fragile colony nested in a dark shady area with forest debris and moss, there was only one with an underdeveloped flower.
Small colony, one with developing flower.
The leaves on this species do not display striking veins like in C. crenulatus. They are a more uniform green and rather dull without any flowers. I am also told that the flowers are borne on a much longer stalk or pedicel than C. crenulatus. Unfortunately, I have never seen a fully developed flower on these before.
Thethird species is Corybas pictus, found in high elevation mossy forests.
Pretty leaves but no flowers.
They do seem to like near-vertical or slanting surfaces.
Corybas pictus are easily mistaken for Corybas crenulatus because of their similar leaves. However, I do find that C. pictus leaves attain a slightly larger size than any C. crenulatus I have come across.
Corybas are difficult orchids with very lofty demands when it comes to growing conditions. Some people have success growing them from tubers in plastic cups to maintain a high humidity. However, I think they are best enjoyed in their natural habitat. If you can't get to their natural habitat, enjoy them in pictures! :D
