The epiphytic growing, tropical orchid species Bulbophyllum claptonense Rolfe 1905 is native to Sabah, the Northern, Malaysian part of Borneo.

Finally we couldn´t figure out, if Bulbophyllum claptonense is an universally accepted botanical name, as the name is just accepted as a synonym by some taxonomists, who claim this colorful orchid is just a variety of Bulbophyllum lobbii. For us it`s absurd, what all that fuzz is about. If we look at Bulbophyllum claptonense and at Bulbophyllum siamense, both accepted as Bulbophyllum lobbii, we recognize two quite different looking orchids. But finally there are other widely accepted names for orchid species, whith less differences, like Dendrobium unicum Seidenf. 1970 and Dendrobium lamyaiae Seidenf. 1996. The colorful and fragrant Bulbophyllum claptonense flowers, with a pleasant lemon scent, get a size of about 7 cm. The tropical orchid species is protected by CITES Appendix II (trade controlled to avoid use incompatible with species survival).

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Image: Bulbophyllum claptonense Rolfe 1905