The orchid that smells like white chocolate blooms in Spain

This species, the Hidden Stanhopea, grows between the Cueva del Guácharo and San Francisco, in Caripe, Monagas state, Venezuela.

In the Botanical-Orchid Park of Estepona, in Malaga, Spain, the Stanhopea Oculta orchid bloomed for the first time, which stands out for its fragrance chocolate blanco.

Spanish media have made news of this flowering because it is the first time that this species has occurred in the Estepona Orchid Garden in Malaga.

And it is that the difficulty of flowering of this species lies in obtaining a favorable habitat for it to flourish.

Caripe smells like white chocolate

According to the Red Book of Venezuelan Flora, the Stanhopea Oculta orchid, which grows between 900 and 1.500 meters above sea level, has been located in Central American countries, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil.

In our country, this plant, which emits a strong smell of white chocolate, is reported only in Caripe (Monagas state), between Cueva del Guácharo and San Francisco.

The flowering of this plant, classified as vulnerable, does not usually exceed three days due to its great effort in giving off such a characteristic and powerful smell of white chocolate.

As for their physical characteristics, they are slender and elegant, and stand out for their quite variable coloration, which can range from ivory white to beige, dotted with small circles and specks of dark red.

The labellum is orange-yellow, very intense, with two dark spots on one side and the other, hence its epithet oculata.