Neofinetia falcata 'Kuroshinju'

I'm so excited about this orchid! There's no flower pictures so don't bother scrolling down looking for them if that's what you're here for. I just got this little one in the mail today. Neofinetia falcata is my favorite orchid. I already have a few different forms/cultivars. I plan on collecting a lot more. Neofinetia falcata was the 1st orchid I ever purchased (and unfortunately my cat ate.) N. falcata 'White Tara' x 'Crystal Palace' was the first orchid I ever got to bloom. They do really well here, the weather and seasonal changes are similar to that of Japan (and a few other Asian countries), where these guys come from. I can easily provide them with cooler winters and hotter humid summers. Every year the mature ones either bloom or start growing a new "fan" of growth.

Neofinetia falcata 'Kuroshinju'

So back to 'Kuroshinju.' I have wanted this orchid for years, ever since I knew it existed. Neofinetia falcata culivars can really only be bought in the US from a limited amount of vendors, only 2 places carry a consistent amount of variety. (I think those 2 importers are where all the other vendors that occasionally carry them get them from in the first place.) They also aren't cheap which is why I'm extra thrilled about this one. When I came home and saw it I nearly had a "Kristen Bell Sloth Meltdown" . It's a good thing I'm just not an emotional person otherwise I'm sure I would've had a similar reaction.

'Kuroshinju' is an ultra miniature Neofinetia form, each "fan," is only going to get 1'' or 2.54 cm large.  Although Neos are considered monopodial, they do have this sympodial growth habit of making more growths and grow from all the points at the top of each fan. The name 'Kuroshinju' I've seen spelled a variety of ways, but translates in English to "Black Pearl."

I apologize to all my non US readers, I know there's a lot of you. I used a US dime for size reference as I couldn't find my measuring tape or any object like a bottle cap that's more universal. So you've also got my thumbnail for size reference.

So tiny!

I ordered this one from a vendor I'd never bought from before as a 2-3 growth plant for $30. That's more money than I think I've ever spent on an orchid in my life. That's also a more than fair price for it compared to the competition. If you enlarge the above picture you can see it's starting it's 4th fan of growth, an unexpectedly nice surprise when I looked it over. It's in great condition too. If I can afford to order more Neofinetia cultivars I'll be ordering from Satomi at Seed Engei again. There's a lot more of them I need, so it's only a matter of time really!