Although i dont own one i find ludisia discolor beautiful!!! as well as Phalaenopsis Schilleriana. the leaves are just so cool!!!

Most of my phals have beautiful leaves even when not in bloom. All shades of shiny green, some almost purple, various mottling patterns and a couple that are variegated.

Paphs galore with gorgeous foliage. I have one I can't remember the name of this instant, but the foliage is so dark it is almost black with silver mottling. If it never bloomed, the foliage is a show by itself.

C. schilleriana has gorgeous foliage. I have other catts where the leaves, pbulbs and growth habit of the plant are very balanced and easy on the eyes. B. nodosa has beautiful silver/grey leaves. Lockhartii is unique as is Epi, distichum. Those I purchased just for the foliage. I too, love the Neo - it is like looking at a little sculpture.

Brooke

Phaius tankevilliae.

It's everyone's favorite, yes?

--Stitz--

Form-wise, I find chinese (Jensoa section) cymbidiums, esp. kanran - with their 1/3 arching leaves & leaf shape - very elegant in and out of flower.

Color-wise, Phalaenopsis stuartiana and schilleriana have lustrous mottled leaves (more red in schilleriana I find) that are quite beautiful. Just my $0.02. alvin

I quite like Stenoglottis fimbriata. It's not particularly big but it's a nice change from the drab green of my other orchids

I like the shape of oncidium alliance plants; my Beallara Diana Dunn "Newberry" takes the cake for cutest, perfectly rounded egg p-bulbs. Just adorable. (I am glad I am among orchid lovers, because I'd get stares from 'normal people')

Snowpea in Montreal

My small Phal Cassandra 'alba' from Big Leaf. Even the spike's a rich, dark red. No info on the cross, unfortunately. Whitecat8

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Angraecum distichum -- an architectural wonder in miniature size.

My Phal lindenii or my Paph vietnamense.

I love the foliage on both.

Whitecat - What a beautiful phal! Who would have thought that possible? (just kidding folks)

Interesting list of orchids. I was really expecting more people to list paphs.

K

Phalaenopsis Carolina Tiny Phil and Phalaenopsis sanderiana are my favourites. The leaves are simply beautiful. :)

I'd have to say it's a tossup between any of my parviflorum Paphs and my Anoectochilus chapaensis which looks so darkly pretty when the sun shines on the leaves.

That is a difficult one...I love the sight of a healthy looking orchid with juicy roots, and lots of green tips..

My favorite...hummm...I guess, species and miniature cymbidiums. Beautiful foliage.

Color wise - I guess just like everyone said, phal species. My phal. philippinense is pretty cute. I love the leaves of a beautifully grown phalaenopsis bellina

Angm. Leonis is lovely: I love the form; have not seen it in bloom yet, so I guess it is a good thing the plant is pretty...Neofinetia falcata is gorgeous.

dendrobium loddigesii, tolumnia, and soph. cernua are sooooo cute when they are mounted.

And finally (I could go one...so hard to choose) Gram. scriptum citrinum...Big, lush, and beautiful.

Olya

Most of the orchids I get are chosen primarily on the growth habit, shape and size and the flowers are really just a plus. I love my Calanthe triplicata for its large lush foliage and Phalaenopsis celebensis for its mottled leaves but most of all I love all the ones with fat round pseudobulbs and spindly leaves.

Cheers
Rodrigo

I always enjoy my Liparis nutans - salmon coloured pseudobulbs edging into a dull green into the leaves. I love all my 'kids equally, but that one has a special spot.

Julie

I think you are all wrong.
Toss up between Malaxis latifolia and Lockhartia acuta. The Lockhartia wins by a nose because the other is deciduous, so is only a raving beauty for 8 months.
Cheers - Nancy
(Angraecum distichum is nice, too)

I need to do a correction to my previous post. It is Brassavola digbyana with the silver grey foliage, not nodosa. I should not sit at the computer and rely on my memory cell - it is getting old and has holes in it:>)

The paph with the pretty dark mottled foliage is Paph. Magic Lantern which also has a gorgeous bloom too.

Brooke

Hands down in my collection:
Ang. sesquipedale
Ang Crestwood
Looks like a huge version of a Neo. or a small tropical tree

Others:
Sedirea Japonica
Dracs can look very slender and graceful as they age

I have 1 phal I adore out of bloom. Yes Kevin A Phal makes my list. :-O ! It's very crisp and stiff, almost like a vanda-type. It reminds be of butterfly wings.

Clara
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Phal. Cassandra = equestris x stuartiana, WhiteCat..

My favorite orchid out of bloom would have to be my mottled leaf Paph....

Lepanthes calodictyon hands down, followed by some of my mottled paphs.

Wow! Lots of phal lovers out here. I think you're just trying to torture me.

K

Kevin says, "Whitecat - What a beautiful phal! Who would have thought that possible? (just kidding folks)"

Uh, Kevin, which part was kidding, huh? The "beautiful" remark or your ridiculous question? Better watch it - the angry Phal gods might Kevin the Pholidota chinensis while you're fast asleep.

Clint, thanks for the info on the Cassandra. I rummaged around on the Big Leaf site and found it. Do you have one?

I was thinking beautiful foliage earlier. For entire plants, yes, the Neos. Also, the Dendrobium moniliformes. With or without leaves or flowers, they remind me of bonsai. If you squint just right, you see an entire forest. Plus, knowing they've been cultivated at least 1700 years gives them an aura of tranquility.

Here's a novel one - Neofinetia falcata x Paraphalaenopsis serpentilingua. Mine hasn't bloomed, but the plant is lovely.

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So many of everyone's faves are unfamiliar to me, and it's fun looking them up.

Whitecat8

this is very thought provoking. I could not decide on which i like best because each has such unique characteristics. I became fasinated by orchids because of the way the roots twist and turn, and hang and grow up out of the pot. etc. for me, it is the roots first, then the flowers, then the plant/leaves.

sue

WC - You know I'm just messing with folks. I do that a lot. My nature. Your hybrid is another one of those plants that fall into the "piece of sculpture category". Nice. Very nice.

Sue - I came to the same conclusion about orchids you did, but my evolution was a bit more ordinary. First came the fascination with the flowers, then much later the plant itself and finally the roots. I love roots. Just love them.

K

hello, K. it is nice to know that some-one else likes roots because I mostly hear about flowers and leaves at any of the orchid shows and meeting I go to. Only once did some-one comment on roots & that was on a vanda. actually, it was my father who got me into looking at the roots. before i even started on orchids, when we go to a nursery, we would be admiring the roots on the bonsai's or adeniums. then when I discovered orchids, I thought, "wow, those are real roots!!" and "the rest is history" --so that is my story.

sue

Kevin - And I'm messin' right back. Wish we could do tones of voice, facial expressions, and gestures here. You never would've clarified the Phal thing. You'd have zinged back w/ something even more outrageous. Whitecat8

I see most of you like the cute , little delicate plants.
I love my honking huge Schomburgkia - growing out of a stone, lithophyte?!(part of the lanscape) in front of the house- can't wait for this babe to bloom!
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For me it's my Nun's orchid. Big, gorgeous, pleated leaves! pic taken last spring:

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Sam,I've always been attracted to Schoms.. several are spiking now and I have to keep lowering the mount.
Wish I could grow outside all year.

Tommy, what a cool nun's orchid, very nice pic~

Probably not 'beautiful' but I love Sobralias; they remind me of bamboo, and I'm nuts about bamboo!
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- Any symetrical vandaceous that isn't a vanda.
- Maxillaria tenuifolia.
Mike

my little burnt ends, spotty leaf sharry babies...because...ITS ALIVE AND GROWING!!! Also my little vandas. Both have good green growth and my heart. (Thanks for the above pics of truely beautiful leaves:) Beauty is in the eye of the (owner) beholder. CJ