Etymology: Lepanthes (from the Greek lepos = scale/bark and anthos = flower, referring to the scale-like sheaths appressed to the stems or the shape of the flowers); tentaculata = tentacle-like (Latin tentaculum, referring to the threadlike, elongated floral structures); gargoyla = waterspout/gargoyle (Late Latin gurgulio, alluding to the bizarre, often dragon-like or fearsome appearance of the floral elements).
Origin / Distribution: Cultivar. The parent species originate from the humid Neotropical cloud forests of South America (especially Ecuador and Colombia).
Description & Notes: This highly interesting miniature cross combines two morphologically fascinating species of the genus Lepanthes. The parent Lepanthes tentaculata contributes its delicate, elongated, tentacle-like floral structures, while Lepanthes gargoyla lends its imposing, almost sculptural flowers in intense red to purple hues and bizarre forms. The seedlings promise exceptional miniature plants with highly decorative growth and spectacular individual flowers that appear continuously on the upper surface of the leaves. Given its high humidity and ventilation requirements, this hybrid is ideally suited, after planting out, to cultivation in display cases, terrariums, or bottle gardens on moist sphagnum moss.