Callopsis volkensii

[metalfan]

A friend of mine gave me a start of this plant about 12 years ago. I have 2 pot full now. She didn;t know what it was. She thought it was some rare miniature anthurium. But its really a Callopsis. It isn't in bloom at the moment but gets very small white anthurium-looking spathe and spadix flowers. I was reading about it and it comes from West Africa from forests at elevation of about 2500 feet. Could this be why mine always seems to look a little stressed? Does it not really like being at sea level?

[tropicbreeze]

I got one of these way back can't remember when ("shrouded in the mists of time"). It was supposed to be an Anthurium, although that didn't seem likely. Later found out it was Callopsis volkensii but information about it is as rare as hen's teeth. I've never seen mine flowering. It's in the same pot as an Anchomanes difformis which does flower.

One of the main difficulties with tropical montane forest plants is that they have evolved in an environment with little temperature change, neither very hot nor very cold. And usually constant high humidity. If lowland areas don't get too cold for them they usually do get too hot. Conversely, if the lowlands area doesn't get too hot, it usually gets too cold. Lowlands climates are often fairly extreme for montane plants.

This is mine, you can see a small Anchomanes leaf emerging between the Callopsis leaves.

[metalfan]

Yes mine used to bloom more frequently when it was getting regular water and fertilizer (like now LOL maybe it will bloom soon), I believe that volkensii is the sole member of the genus Callopsis. The leaves do sort of resemble Anthurium radicans or A. dresslerii but the stems are totally different. Also new leaves on those Anthuriums come out red, these never exhibit red coloration. I keep the temps in the greenhouse pretty stable, of course I can;t heat it to a nighttime low or 75-78 which is our usual night time low here from about May-September. But even on cold days (sometimes when the high might be 55 instead of 65-75) here the GH manages to stay warm without much heat in the daytime when its closed up. Its so humid here now its like you are breathing water, in the winter I think my pond and stream in the greenhouse help keep the moisture up a bit but of course nowhere near summer conditions. I do a lot of misting in winter.

[metalfan]

This is some Anthurium radicans (or it may be radicans x dresslarii) I am propagating from 2 large containers I have of this. I don't remember which it is because I used to have both the species and the cross but of course usual sob story tags got lost. These have just had new leaves come out, they were a lot redder at first but are now moving through bronze to green. These leaves do sort of resemble the Callopsis