stanhopea vs dendrochilium foilage

[weederwoman]

I have a mystery plant that I am nursing back to health. So far I have never seen it flower. Based on the leaves and pseudobulbs I thought I had a dendrochilium. But now,looking at photos on the web, I wonder if it could be a stanhopea. I have never seen either plant "in person", but in photos the foliage and pseudobulbs can look quite the same. There was a stanhopea put in the collection around 1980, but I have no idea if it survived.

Thank you

[glengary54]

weederwoman - If you can, please post a picture, there are differences between the structure of both genera. We love a good mystery almost as much as we love solving them.

[weederwoman]

Glen

Thank you for your interest. The man who started this collection went down to central and south america as a botanic consultant with ntl. geographic. The ones I have notes on are from 1977 to 1980. The stanhopea is one of the few entries without a species listed. Some orchids were added after 1980, I'm sure, but I have no info on these. They have been poorly tended for years. It may take me awhile to get them all to flower. I need the genus identification to help me with care procedures.
I do not know where on the site I can find information on how to post pictures. Could you help me with that?
Thank you

Laurel Lace

[glengary54]

Laurel - Everything you need to know about posting pictures can be found in the following thread.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...ng-photos.html

Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

[gnathaniel]

Welcome, Laurel! If the plant in question was definitely collected in Central or South America, then it's unlikely to be Dendrochilum which is an 'Old World' genus primarily from the Philippines.

The Stanhopeinae include a number of other vegetatively similar genera besides Stanhopea (eg Gongora, Paphinia, Sievekingia), so pictures could still help narrow it down some. Photos showing leaves and pseudobulbs from different angles (as well as close-ups of any emerging new growths), overall growth habit, and inclusion of a ruler for scale are all useful in evaluating ID from vegetation. Put up whatever you can, though, we'll try to figure it out.

Either way, culture for most of these is fairly similar: regular moisture and fertilizer, good air at the roots (hanging basket w/ moss is a common way to pot), low to medium light. Temperature tolerances/needs can vary considerably, but most Stanhopea are warm-growing and if it's survived in captivity since the 80s then it's probably been in conditions it likes.

--Nat

[weederwoman]

Nat

Thank you for your interest. I do not know if this plant was collected or purchased or at what time it entered the collection, but there have been no new plants for a number of years. All I know is that a stanhopea was entered into the collection 1977-1980. The plant had spag. moss packed tightly around the roots, which were badly rotted. The plant is not that healthy, so that might affect how it looks for identification purposes. Since I repotted it, it is now starting to put on new roots and new growth.

Laurel

[isurus79]

Only pics of the foliage will help with this mystery. Please post 3 or 4 pictures of your mystery plants and then we will do our best with the ID.

[weederwoman]

To all

Thanks for offering to help. I will post pictures soon. I am slow figuring out how to reduce my pictures to post them. Does anyone know a reference work in which you can find all the species introduced by a specific person?
Thanks
Laurel

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by weederwoman

To all
I am slow figuring out how to reduce my pictures to post them. Does anyone know a reference work in which you can find all the species introduced by a specific person?
Thanks
Laurel

While I can't help you with the reference work, I think the easiest way to post pics is to start a flicker account (Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing) and then copy/paste the pics here in the thread.

[weederwoman]

To all my helpers

pictures are in flickr under mystery orchid #1. link below


Flickr: noble's memory's Photostream