Trying to ID an Orchid Collection at Local College

[SilverDreamer]

*laughs* My idea of large is the sort of collection that was in the newspaper recently - 2000+ orchids, various rooms vs. two 8'x3' tables with two-tiered shelves down the middle of each.

[SilverDreamer]

Phantasm - Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't even think to look for a local society. Shows how much I know about the orchid community.

[SilverDreamer]

I've posted four more orchid pics - three ID'd, one Phalaenopsis- no id yet.

On a side note- I really don't like slugs. I recently discovered that they like curling up in the drainage holes of clay pots, coming out at night to feast on my poor newly opened buds. The Dendrobium aggregatum was a favored target - the petals disappearing from each bud just before it was open enough to photograph. Very aggravating. Thankfully, my teacher knew what to look for when I mentioned the problem. Now I have a new step in my weekly inspection routine. Lift pot, discover slug, squish. Eck.

[Orchidflowerchild]

Originally Posted by SilverDreamer

*laughs* My idea of large is the sort of collection that was in the newspaper recently - 2000+ orchids, various rooms vs. two 8'x3' tables with two-tiered shelves down the middle of each.

*sigh* A large collection like that is so cool to have, too...and not even hat hard to care for if you automate things. Takes forever to build. I miss all my old plants.


-Cj

[epiphyte78]

Since you only have one Encyclia that's an easy one to cross off your list...



Rather than manually squishing the slugs I would recommend using "That's It". The granules are small and will last for quite a while without getting moldy. It will also help protect against the dreaded tiny bush snail.

[SilverDreamer]

Thanks. I'm still going to wait until it blooms to confirm since I have a few plants that have that basic shape, but it's good to have a way of narrowing things down. Maybe they are divisions of the same plant? Or undocumented donations? *wince* I hope not that last.

[epiphyte78]

Not quite sure but I think the only other orchid on your list that has egg shaped pseudobulbs is the Coelogyne. However, the Coelogyne pseudobulbs tend to have an inch or more between them and they can wrinkle quite a bit. The leaves of the Coelogyne tend to be floppy and thin while Encyclia leaves tend to be stiff and leathery.

Lycaste pseudobulbs tend to be close together and around the same height as Encyclias but they are flatter than Encyclias...and often have two sharp thorns on the tops of the pseudobulbs that have dropped their leaves.

So if the similar orchids have perfectly round, fairly short, pseudobulbs that are packed in close together bearing relatively narrow, fairly stiff leaves then they are most likely Encyclias. However, there are a few other species from other genre that might fit that description as well...such as Laelia albida.

[SilverDreamer]

This may help with the remaining IDs. I've updated the list of the plants in the collection at the beginning of this thread - All marked with a + are labeled. I still need help with the rest.

[SilverDreamer]

epiphyte78. I do have a few plants with the wrinkled, smaller pseudobulbs. I'll have to check on the leaves, though they are long and thin.
I haven't seen any thorns on the smooth, clustered pseudobulbs, but then again, I haven't know to look for that. Of course, it could be that that is one of the ones that died or has simply disappeared over the years. Now that the list of plants that haven't been ID'd has shortened a bit, it is fairly obvious that a fair number of the plants on the original list just aren't around any more - we simply don't have that many plants. It's a pity, but it happens. We should have at least half, I think, depending on how many of what is left are duplicates.

[epiphyte78]

You should be able to ID the Coelogyne, Dendrobiums, Ludisia and Lycaste by Googling for images of the plants...their foliage differs sufficiently from the other orchids on your list. A member of your local orchid society should be able to fairly easily point them out for you as well.