A Dendrobium or ??

[roach]

My wife bought me an orchid that appeared to be a dendrobium. When researching my new Maxillaria tenuifolia I came across a Maxilleria scalariformis. The flower arrangement around the cane and leaves looked like what I thought was a dendrobium. The flowers are white but look like the scalariformis. Is there another way for me to identify this plant.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by roach

My wife bought me an orchid that appeared to be a dendrobium. When researching my new Maxillaria tenuifolia I came across a Maxilleria scalariformis. The flower arrangement around the cane and leaves looked like what I thought was a dendrobium. The flowers are white but look like the scalariformis. Is there another way for me to identify this plant.

I'm going to move this to the Beginner Forum so that it will get more attention. Then, if you can supply a photo it'll help with the ID. Maxillaria is a very large genus with a lot of veriation. Max scalaraformis has branched stems (and dark leaves, beautiful pink flowers) Max. tenuifolia has prominent pseudobulbs the grow in sort of a "stack", with narrow leaves. Usually red. So, a photo - or a few photos, both of the flowers and of the whole plant will help with the ID.

[estación seca]

Go to the Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia and look up the two species.