Coelia Chiapas. Is it a correct name?
 

My name is Joel. I live in Gloucester, MA. While I have been "growing" orchids on windowsills for about 10 years, I still consider myself a beginner.
I just won a raffle at a Massachusetts Orchid Society meeting and I received an orchid with the label saying "Coelia Chiapas". I cannot find such an orchid on the internet. I wonder if it is more correctly named "Coelia Macrostachya Lindl. since that orchid apparently comes from Chiapas, Mexico. Any ideas? Also what does the "Lindl." refer to?
Thanks to anyone for your help.

It is impossibly to answer your question without good pictures on the plant AND the flower!

As the Chiapas is written with a capital "C" it is an indication that the plant is a hybrid. (If the grower bother about that notation) Then the international orchid register at RHS give 4 hybrids with the Grex "Chiapas".

Encyclia Chiapas
Laeliocattleya Chiapas
Miltonidium Chiapas
Paphiopedilum Chiapas

Take a look if you have one of these...

/M

Thanks for your reply, Magnus. I just got the plant yesterday and while it looks healthy, it is not in bloom. The label is hand written and I can not tell whether the C is upper or lower case. From my research so far, I suspect that the plant is Coelia macrostachya and that is from Chiapas, Mexico. I may have to wait until it flowers before getting a better answer but I can hope.

Joel

If your orchid society got it where I think they got it from...

It is not a hybrid, it is a species. They just don't know what species it is.

The Chiapas denotes that it is from Chiapas, Mexico.

It is possible it is Coelia macrostachya, but there are definitely other species in this genus that are not quite as well known as well. It is best to ask your orchid society if they can provide a picture of the plant and the flowers.

Within the genus Coelia, Coelia bella and Coelia macrostachya are the 2 species that are relatively well known. Other species are rather obscure.

Thanks for your reply, Philip. My society probably got the plant from a nearby garden center. I will check with them also.

Joel

I actually think they got their plant from a nursery in Hawaii...but we'll see what your orchid society tells you.

You asked about Lindl.

Lindl. is an abbreviation for John Lindley, the botanist who named the species. The full citation should have the year of publication too, Coelia macrostachya Lindl. 1842. Adding the author and year specifies whose definition and description of the species you are referring too, in case the name has changed over time (as all orchid names seem to). Sometimes there will be additional names or abbreviations in parentheses if a second author or authors confirmed or refined the concept of the species.

Thanks for the info, PaphMadMan. Hopefully, this will bring me one step closer to solving the problem.