Three Paphs At Funchal Old Market

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Happypaphy7

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Funchal is the main city of the Portuguese Island, Madeira where I just vacationed.

In the "old" part of the city, there is this building with many different shops, fish, meat, and flowers!

In the photo below, from the left, insigne (this was very common on the island, almost everyone had pot full of them in bloom!), Lathamianum (spicerianum x villosum), Nitens ?? (insigne x villosum).

What I suspect as Nitens had huge glossy flowers. Also sold at the air port.
These are 50 cents (EURO) per stem.

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This is the same lady from the market, but she would take some flowers out on the street closer to where there are more tourists.

Boxes full of insigne.

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Insigne bouquet

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Nitens?

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My phone camera lens had some dirt and many pictures came out cloudy.
Did not realize that until later. lol

Also, one store at this market was selling many many bulldog hybrids, and they were all very very large. Majority was spotted ones with rather early "antique" looking flowers, and then some copper tone, then a few of red and white and green. only two green, so they like spotted ones over there I guess.
Price ranged from 15 Euro for a pot with a single bloom plant to 40.

Then, there were a bunch of Maudiae x charlesworthii type with nearly perfect dorsal for only 20.
All NOID.
I was very tempted to smuggle those vini hybrids, but did not. Dang it!!! hehe
 
Ok, I think I got the right ID for what I thought was Nitens with very pink petals.
Invincible. It has a hirsutissimum as one parent, and the rest are insigne and boxalii.
Registered in 1911.
 
Very strange, to have an exotic plant to the region be so common, everybody had them, pretty cool!!
 
Those Paphs are locally produced. They export to the mainland. Perfect temperatures and lots of good quality water. So envious!
I adore that market! After the big fire in Funchal last year I'm afraid the city lost a part of its charm, but Funchal and the island are always worth a visit!
 
Pots of Paphiopedilum insigne in front of a flower shop.
The building is the traditional style. I forgot if it was specific to this island or Portugal in general, though.

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Inside the small shop, there are lots of things from cut flowers, tropical houseplants, Paperwhite and other narcissus bulbs, Freesia corms, cuttings of Hydrangea, Bird of Paradise cuttings, Agapanthus divisions, Cymbidium back bulbs with no name but color assortment with pictures, Coelogyne (there was a nice blooming mooreana but wasn't for sale, and rather dishonest in that they had it there for a display but what they were selling were small backbulbs with a picture of cristata or something similar), bare root bundles of Paphiopedilum insigne (blooming plants were not for sale) for 5-15 Euro. All looked rather sick with spots and marks, so I didn't buy any, although everything was a great bargain!

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Those Paphs are locally produced. They export to the mainland. Perfect temperatures and lots of good quality water. So envious!
I adore that market! After the big fire in Funchal last year I'm afraid the city lost a part of its charm, but Funchal and the island are always worth a visit!

I would love to go back in April/May when the Island is supposedly the most colorful.
I think April, there is a flower festival.

Just seeing all those Agapanthus, which were all over the roadside in the mountain and down by the beach area, in full bloom would be amazing!
 
climate must be just right

Only small batches of area around the world has what is called "warm summer" Mediterranean climate where the summer is not brutally dry and hot like it is the case for most area with typical Mediterranean climate.

There are parts in Northern (I think) Spain where there are tons of Paph. insigne growing like weeds also.
 

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