Corybas pictus

Painted Corybas, Painted Helmet Orchid

One of the smallest orchids in cultivation, Corybas pictus is a tuberous terrestrial found in the mossy montane forests of Borneo, Sumatra, and Java at elevations of 700–2,000 m. Each plant produces a single heart-shaped leaf — green with a striking pattern of silver or white venation that gives the species its name, *pictus* meaning painted — and one solitary hooded flower per season. It grows and then vanishes: after flowering the entire above-ground plant dies back to a tiny underground tuber for several months, which can unsettle growers who are not expecting it. In cultivation it is considered an expert-level challenge, best attempted in a sealed, high-humidity enclosure on a bed of live sphagnum with stable cool-to-warm temperatures and no direct airflow.