Sexual dimorphism illustrated...

[Roberta]

Here is Catasetum Donna Wise (tenebrosum x Orchidglade) - most of the inflorescence consists of female flowers, but there is one lonely little male in the middle.

[Dorchid]

The females flowers are very pretty as well! Most of the pics I’ve seen, they were all green...cool that those have the pink in them.

[isurus79]

Very cool! Its great you got both on a single spike.

[Roberta]

Not the best blooming on the male side... usually flowers are larger and better formed. But this was neat... especially the way the one male flower was positioned for a good view. For whatever reason, I have had a lot more female flowers than usual this year. But also the best blooming of Catasetinae in general that I have ever had. Maybe they liked the extra attention they got all summer.

[Diane56Victor]

I wouldn't call him lonely with that many females....lol
Its a huge difference though. He's very spectacular when compared to the ladies. You wouldn't think its the same plant.
I read its possible to get either male or female blooms on Catasetums. Is it normal to get both type blooms on the one plant?

Edited......
Was there a change in growing conditions that could result in getting more of one type of bloom?

[Roberta]

Fred Clarke (SVO) who probably knows as much about these as anybody on the planet, says that he has not been able to control which gender he gets with any reliability. (The males are showier, but a hybridizer needs females too) There is some thought that more ideal conditions makes for more females, but it's totally not predictable.

Getting both on the same inflorescence isn't all that common, but it's not rare either. I have several on my website that produced both on the same spike.

[DirtyCoconuts]

So I have to ask, if you get both on the same spike is this like a sure fire self pollination or does it still require the same level of chance and nature?

[Roberta]

I think it's chance... And with a hybrid, who knows how much nature has to do with it... I have definitely had males and females on spikes that came at different times... which would be reasonable to avoid self-pollination. But having them on the same plant at the same time or even the same inflorescence, seems to defeat that strategy. Maybe in nature it is more organized...