NOID with masses of creamy white flowers

[PNGPhil]

It's winter here in the Highlands of PNG, and the cool nights have brought this guy into flower, which somebody gave me a year ago. It is covered in all these racemes of masses of small creamy white flowers. Any idea what it is?



and a close up of the flowers with the macro a bit better set...



Thanks,
Phil

[cneos]

looks like dendrobium speciosum. How big is the plant overall? Length of inflorescences? Number of flowers per inflorescence?

On speciosum, inflorescences emerge from top of a 2 - 3 foot tall cane. The inflorescences on a mature plant also 2 - 3 feet with hundreds of flowers. Plant can get huge! At a recent show in Massachusetts, a single dendrobium speciosum plant was transported in the back two seats of a minivan ...

[PNGPhil]

Canes are about 12cm (~5 inches), inflorences 8cm (~4 inches), about 30-40 flowers per inflorescence - so not quite to the standard of the speciosum you described! Thanks though - from a quick google image search it does look very similar - though smaller.

Phil

[abiom]

It looks like an Eria spp similar to mine which bloomed last week. Once the spike fell off,it will leave a scar like a hole on the cane.

[PNGPhil]

Yes - I have others similar that leave a hole in the cane - is that a characteristic of Eria?

[abiom]

Originally Posted by PNGPhil

Yes - I have others similar that leave a hole in the cane - is that a characteristic of Eria?

One of their character,but not all. Some doesnt has this eg Eria pannea and Eria pulchella.

ps. ur living in orchid paradise

[orchideric]

Dear Phil,

Yes, it is an Eria and yes, all species form their inflorescences in a pit covered by a thin bract. They poke through the bract as they develop.

One of the reasons we like the segregate genus Trichotosia is that the inflorescences don't arise from a crater.

Hope that helps, Eric