Orthochilus odontoglossus spotted flowers

The flowers of Orthochilus odontoglossus are small and golden yellow in colour.

The six tepals or perianth segments become about 16 mm long. The outer three, the sepals and the (inner) petals (but not the lip) are similar in appearance, as is typical of Orthochilus. The pointed lateral sepals spread, the dorsal one leaning forward over the column. The pair of lateral petals are angled outwards, just wider than the lip.

The three-lobed lip is sometimes orange-yellow, here brown to maroon spotted in parts. Erect papillae, cylindrical fleshy projections, grow in the central part of the lip crest, some of them carrying the dark spots.

A short spur is positioned at the back of the lip. The specific name, odontoglossus (Latin), meaning toothed tongue, refers to the lip papillae (Pooley, 1998; www.zimbabweflora.co.zw).