Acacallis cyanea

Native to the upper Amazon basin and upper Orinoco region of South America, this epiphytic orchid grows on trees in wet tropical forest. Its flowers may be pale lilac or blue-tinged, with a darker indigo-purple lip. The blooms are about one and a half to two inches across. It grows in lowland forests that flood seasonally and can survive complete submersion. Its creeping rhizome produces widely spaced pseudobulbs, each bearing a single pleated leaf. The fragrant flowers are also used in orchid hybrid breeding. Photographed in Colombia.