Spherical Pseudobulb NoID

[BeachDadAtHome]

Hey OB.

I scored a cute NoID this last weekend that amazed me at how round the pseudobulbs were. Spherical isn't exactly right, because it's thin... I guess like a big fat button.

It has a nice, rich purple flower spike coming up.

My question is this -- is it safe to assume that this is a bulbophyllum? I've been flipping through books and the web, but it's hard to find exactly the shape of the bulbs. I'd just like to know the genus with some certainty (and can't wait for the flowers). Are there others with this shape of pseudobulb that I'm missing in my research?

Thanks!

(Sorry I can't post pictures until I get a few more posts under my belt)

[Discus]

I find coelogyne bulbs can be pretty surprisingly spherical.
What are the leaves like?
Where is the spike coming from?

You can upload some pictures to flickr or picasa or something like that and then share a link to them here.

---------- Post added at 05:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------

Maxillarias can also have roundish quite flattened pbulbs, come to think of it.

---------- Post added at 05:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------

miltonias and miltoniopsis are also somewhat round and flattened) although "spherical" is not something I'd really call them.

---------- Post added at 05:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:33 PM ----------

I've also seen some Polystachya with rounded pbulbs (P. ottoniana in the wild)

[RosieC]

I think it could be one of several things.

Do you have pictures of the flowers, that would help identify it.

[BeachDadAtHome]

Thanks for the quick responses! Great questions.



That's a picture of the bulbs. The two in the center are stacked on top of each other. The flower spike is coming out to the top left.

Here is the leaf picture and flower spike:

[Silje]

Looks like some kind of oncidium to me.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It's some sort of Encyclia. Without flowers I can't nail it down further.

[BeachDadAtHome]

Hail King Philip! I never would have guessed. It's a new genus to me (okay, they almost all are), but it seems that the flowers will be the smoking gun. Many thanks. I'll post a picture of the flowers when they open!

Here's from Banks' "Orchid Grower's Companion":

Aencyclia -
This is a complex genus of about 150 taxa from Central and South America, of generally intermediate to warm-growing species. They often grow in clumps and have a distinct pseudobulb. They are easily recognized by their "upside down" flowers and a labellum that displays varying degrees of dark purple striation. Many are also highly fragrant. Encyclia are readily grown, either on cork slabs or potted in a well-drained medium. Most species have a dormant period from late fall to early spring. The majority of the species are summer flowering.

[gnathaniel]

Sorry guys but definitely not Encyclia, I agree with Silje that it's an Oncidium of some sort. My totally wild guess would be a hybrid with ampliatum in its parentage but I really have no idea...

[WhiteRabbit]

I agree with Onc alliance ... I have a "Colmanara" with pbulbs like this. There's also the bract foliage that Oncidiums get ...

I did have an Enc radiata (I forget the new genus name) that had extremely spherical pbulbs - much more so than this.

[kevin1217]

Might be a colmanara wildcat. I have one that looks very similar. Cant be for sure without flowers and definitely not an encyclia.