Also known as Cryptophoranthus cunabulus, this miniature species is from Colombia and is related to Masdevallia and Pleurothallis. It has a pendant habit and is best grown on a mount. It is supposed to be temperature tolerant, though I grow it cool, and it flowers successively and is seldom out of flower. The growths are 6-8cm long and the flowers small at 1.3 cm.
Ophidion cunabulum, formerly classified as Cryptophoranthus cunabulus, is a tiny orchid in the Pleurothallid group. The lance-shaped leaves are approximately 5 cm long and the flowers about 1.5 cm, blooming, one or two flowers at a time successively in the pendant spikes.
The plant is from Colombia and both names refer to the shaped of the flower, Ophidon referring to the snake-head shape of the flowers and cunabulum meaning "cradle-shaped." The plant is easy to grow and blooms freely over a long period of time.
My plant is in a small bonsai pot with the flowers dangling over the sides, but the plant could also very be grown on a mount. It is tolerant of different temperatures, but prefers fairly high humidity. I grow the plant under rather high light and the leaves and flower spikes are shorter than they would be otherwise.
