Tianxi Mei Cymbidium faberi Variety Introduction and Care Key Points
Petal type: Red-sheath plum petal. History: Unknown. Characteristics: The three outer petals are round-headed, tightly edged, and narrowed at the base; the shoulders are level; the holds are half-hard cupped; the lip is a small ruyi tongue; the inflorescence on the scape bears only four or five flowers.
Tianxi Mei: Discovered near Xishan in Shaoxing County, Zhejiang, in the third year of the Republic of China (some say the first year of Xuantong). The upright leaves are about 1 cm wide in the middle and about 45 cm long; the old leaves are semi-pendant, the leaf color is dark green and glossy, the leaf tips are short, and the leaf sheaths are tight. The silver-red sheath base is marked with purple veins and mottling; the flower stalk is pink-purple-green, slender, tall, and upright, reaching the leaf frame; the flower pedicel is red; the inflorescence on the scape bears only four or five flowers, with three flowers on a single scape, all borne at the top of the stalk. The three outer petals are narrowed at the base and broadened at the corners, with obvious angularity; the petals are extremely thick; the divided holds are half-hard and deeply cupped, clasping the column very tightly; the lip is a small ruyi tongue, with only the tip of the tongue extending out from between the holds. The flower form is extremely upright, and the small, nimble flowers spread gracefully above the orchid leaves, closely resembling a miniature 'Duan Mei'. Tianxi Mei is one of the famous red-sheath plum-petal treasures of the Republic of China period. Unfortunately, this variety is difficult to grow and shy to bloom, and it has been passed down very rarely; in recent years it has almost disappeared.
