Worst Smelling Orchids Ever!
 

Hello All,

What is the most malodorous orchid you have been acquainted with?

For me, it is a Bulbophyllum echinolabium (I saw it at the LI Orchid show but also have one soon to bloom).

For non-orchids, I have also been around a Stapelia and a corpse flower at the NYBG.

While they all smelled similarly to a roast beef sandwich forgotten on the lower level of Grand Central in July, I thought the Bulbophyllum was the most potent. Then again, it was the one I was able to get close to.

I also have a Bulb. Jersey and Bulb. phalaenopsis but they have never bloomed. I was hoping to get some repulsive masdevallias soon though.

What is the worst smelling orchid you have? I like them because they hold a certain "novelty".

Fortunately, none of my orchids have any unbearable smell. But one of them C. Jewel Red 'Shinzu' doesn't have a particular attractive perfume.

Can't exactly put a finger on the description ------ but it's not exactly a perfume-shop smell. It's maybe a bit of perfume, mixed with slight iodine/chocolatey smell. Not completely off-putting for me when I smell it, but not fantastic. Maybe border-line case if somebody else smells it. They might not like it.

Click Here.

The flower itself is quite nice though. Also - to tell the truth, I usually just collect orchids for their flower appearances and sometimes for their over-all plant appearance.

But I recently was enticed by the members on orchidboard about the smell of Jackfowlierara Appleblossum ------ so just had to buy a couple of juveniles, just to see later what they actually smell like heheheh.

I have one of those in bloom right now. It is pleasant enough. It does not smell like a typical cattleya. It reminds me somewhat of a processed peach fruit cup, frozen pineapple, or a fruit-flavored punch or tea. There is also a hint of mango in the fragrance. All in all, it is has a fruit fragrance like peaches.

Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis - rotting meat.

Several Bulbophyllum hybrids made by Bill Thoms have names that imply their aroma... like Bulb. Dragon's Breath, Bulb. More than Aghast, Bulb. A-dorbil Upwind...

Cattleya percivaliana has a horrendous scent

The Jackfowlierara Appleblossum flowers smell like the blooms of a Jonathan apple tree. One year, my apple trees were in bloom at the same time as the orchid and I compared the fragrances.

Someone in my Orchid Society was moving away and gave me a Bulbophyllum carunculatum seedling which is growing very nicely. I thought it would be one of those Bulbos that you need to put your nose into it to smell but Edgar Stehli, who owns the parent plant, assured me that when the parent plant is in bloom, he can smell it as soon as he enters the greenhouse and it is...very unpleasant. We shall see. If it inherits this trait and is as bad as he indicates, it may be returned to him. :(:whew

Gee, I don't find it unpleasant. Maybe cultivars differ.

---------- Post added at 07:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:40 PM ----------

That's one of the smelly ones, right up there with Bulb. echiinolabium. But really pretty, so perhaps you can forgive its aroma.

I actually seek out specifically bad smelling ones on purpose.

I think they have a novelty like something out of a carnival or circus. Imagine a sign saying "Smell This Plant If You Dare".

I even convinced my local orchid vendor to buy a Bulb. phalaenopsis at an auction to use as some sort of crowd-pleaser.

It certainly works at the NY Botanical garden which draws thousand of visitors ecstatic to see (and smell) the corpse flower when it blooms.

I wouldn't consider it really bad, but definitely an acquired taste... Dendrochillum magnum. I recall a show several years ago, where the Facilities Manager of the venue chewed us (the show chairpeople) out, insisting that somebody was smoking clove cigarettes in his room where we had the exhibits... it turned out to be a bunch of very nice Ddc. magnum blooms in a display. (We have been laughing about it ever since. I can't look at a big, happy Ddc. magnum without giggling a bit.)

Bulbophyllum echinolabium. One of the most beautiful and awe inspiring flowers I have ever seen....... But smells like potent dog poo on a hot summer day. It's the kind of plant you must admire from afar. Why must something so beautiful smell so awful?