Oncidium floridanum?

[gixrj18]

This is one of the plants that were in the big collection that I bought from someone, last spring. The collection was mostly Florida native species. There were several untagged oncidiums in the bunch, and I did find a tag that said, "Onc. floridanum" lying loose in the load of about 100 plants. This one just opened it's first bloom, and it looks a lot like it. None of the other Oncidiums from the group are blooming, this is the only one. It has only been open for two days, so I imagine it will darken a little. So the question is, floridanum, or not?

[cb977]

Hi Jasen

She's lovely but I don't think that's the tag for it. Orchidwiz has 6 pictures and they all look a bit more "frilly" than this one does.

[gixrj18]

Originally Posted by cb977

Hi Jasen

She's lovely but I don't think that's the tag for it. Orchidwiz has 6 pictures and they all look a bit more "frilly" than this one does.

Hey Susanne, I was wondering if you could possibly check your Orchidwiz for any pics of Onc. ensatum, which is apparently the Everglades variety of Onc. floridanum. I guess Onc. floridanum refers to the Caribbean variety.....which is kind of backwards, if you ask me. The pics I've seen of ensatum look very similar to mine. It would make sense, since most of the plants this came with were Fla. natives. Thanks in advance!

[gixrj18]

The little brown dot on the lip is really making me lean toward ensatum!

[dgenovese1]

Hi Jasen,

It is a beautiful plant and flower!

I don't think it is Onc. ensatum, but on this I am not absolutely positive. The photos in Orchid Wiz of ensatum show the blooms to have a much more contrasting color difference between the petals, sepals and lip. The petals are a chocolate brown and frilly, with the lip looking similar to what is in your photo; bright yellow with or without the center spot.

Also, I don't think it is floridanum either. I have one of these that blooms in early to mid summer. I'm sorry that I can't be of too much use on the ID of this guy.

[orchideric]

Dear Jasen,

Your plant is Oncidium ensatum without question. Oncidium floridanum is considered a straightforward synonym according to Mark Chase in Flora North America. It is flowering off-season as it usually flowers March to May in Florida.

Hope that helps, Eric

[gixrj18]

Originally Posted by dgenovese1

Hi Jasen,

It is a beautiful plant and flower!

I don't think it is Onc. ensatum, but on this I am not absolutely positive. The photos in Orchid Wiz of ensatum show the blooms to have a much more contrasting color difference between the petals, sepals and lip. The petals are a chocolate brown and frilly, with the lip looking similar to what is in your photo; bright yellow with or without the center spot.

Also, I don't think it is floridanum either. I have one of these that blooms in early to mid summer. I'm sorry that I can't be of too much use on the ID of this guy.

This picture was also taken before the flower reached full color. It has browned a bit, but it seems to have a lot of tiger-like stripes in it. There are more stripes than brown, so it looks predominantly greenish. The Orchid Encyclopedia says it blooms from late winter to spring...so I agree, it is a bit early, but not a whole lot. I searched pics of ensatum, and out of ten pics, I would say at least five or six looked just like it. Besides, you know how much color can vary between siblings, so I guess we have to keep that in mind. From what I've seen, I really think it is ensatum....but that's my opinion! Thank you all for the input.

[dgenovese1]

Well, it just goes to prove the fact that I am always learning... Thanks Eric for your information, it's appreciated.