Rediscovered Cycnoches farnsworthianum (the lost cycnoches)

[palm521]

this was a topic today within my online orchid group , i bought this from a Peruvian hobbyist/collector as cycnoches peruvianum, all was good, plant was going great , and when plant bloomed i found out it was not a peruvianum , after researching a bit in the net, i ended up thinking this was a Cyg Haagii. wrong again.

Alexis Pardo, a worldwide expert in catasetinae, expressed his doubts about this plant being a cyg haagii, he asked other expert in this case he went to George Carr , and concluded that this plant is without doubt the lost peruvian orchid called cycnoches farnesworthianum, that was described in 2001 by Eric Christenson .

so i might be one of the very FEW people in the world that has this plant thriving in captivity? i dont know for sure. If that is the case i do plan to change that, and have the plant properly propagated. sadly i was not expecting this, and all the blooms i got on this rare jewel were males, next time will make seed pods, and send it to different people , including scientist in Peru for propagation. (i will even send a division , if needed)

the information attached is for Educational purposes only. and cant be used without the authorization of the authors.

Credits :
drawings : Eric Christenson
paper : George Carr.
Pictures & cultivation : me

Antonio.

[Yéri]

That must be a wonderful feeling, to have such a rare beauty in your possession.

I am glad to hear you will make sure to propagate this plant in order to have the species survive! Good luck!
Maybe one day it'll end up in my greenhouse here in Belgium

[isurus79]

Wow, talk about an amazing story!! You should see if you can buy more of this plant from that vendor before he finds out what a jewel he has! And then sell one to me lol

[AvantGardner]

Wow what an honor and a responsibility you have there! Does the vendor have more mislabeled plants or did he accidentally give you his prized possession?

[howze01]

Wow! It's great that you have been doing so well with it. Just keep doing what you are! That would make me nervous....

[Saadia]

Wow, what a story! Congratulations on such a rare specie in your collections.
And that's some responsibility as well!
I wish you good luck in growing your cycnoches farnesworthianum

[palm521]

he does not have more of this plants, i really dont want to put pressure on this species, as it will also impact haagii as well. i did asked just to see if he had more i could buy, but no. the "vendor" is actually a guy who likes hiking , and makes the extra $ by selling plants he collects. he is never picks big plants just a small part of it. i am quite confident that mother plant is still there.

what i am asking him is to organize a trip, and visit the area where this plant was found, (hopefully) i am looking forward to see a good population of this fantastic species in 2015. i will do my best to find it, and record altitude, and other important data, with others.

Avantgardner, sadly, he does not have prized possessions, i probably got one of very few plants that he took back to lima. and this was part of it,

funny as i got a bit angry when i found it was not peruvianum!!! LOL, (angry died, and happy is living in it place!)

[lepetitmartien]

Welcome into the Club of the Orchid Rarities… btw, we should have a social group for this!

[WhiteRabbit]

Wow! Beautiful!
And what a fantastic discovery!

[euplusia]

An unbelievable story. Peru (and possibly Bolivia) hold a large number of recently discovered or undescribed species of orchids in general and Catasetinae in particular.
But it takes a lot of growing skills, expert knowledge and endeavours in specification to bring the story to this point. You earn my full respect. Thanks also for the posted drawings.
Hopefully this Cycnoches is as fertile as herrenhusanum, and plants are available for a broader market in a few years. This awesome species can easily win any orchid lover's heart.