Oncidium sphacelatum (Popcorn Orchid)

Native from Mexico through Central America and also to southeastern Venezuela, this large perennial orchid usually grows on trees and sometimes on rocks. Its branching flower stalks can reach six feet long and carry fifty to one hundred small yellow flowers marked with brown. The lightly fragrant flowers appear in spring and attract bees. Water-storing pseudobulbs support its strap-shaped leaves, and mature clumps can be propagated by division. Photographed in Colombia.