Chinese Cymbidium ? - Orchid Board

harrygermany · #1 07-17-2007, 01:17 PM

Hello everyone,

I am rather new to orchids.
Recently I got a flowering orchid from a friend, and I would like to know what orchid it is.

Can anyone help me identify this species ?

It's origin is Nepal, and it seems to be a Cymbidium.

2 photos here:
http://www.harrygermany.de/orchids/cymcyp_2.jpg
http://www.harrygermany.de/orchids/cymcyp_1.jpg

Leaves are 90-100 cm (3 to 3 1/3 feet) long;
0,8 cm (1/3 inch) wide;
grasslike; slightly ribbed, with a clear middle rib; dark green.

It blooms in March.
Flowers are 9 cm (3 1/2 inch) in diameter, yellowish green (picture shows correct colours), NOT FRAGRANT AT ALL.

This Cymbidium seems to belong to the group of "Chinese" or "oriental" Cymbidiums, i.e. that famous "sacred" group of C. sinense, C. kanran, C. cyperifolium etc.

But these "Chinese Cymbidiums" are all reported as highly fragrant.

So what is it ?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards

Harry

Ray · #2 07-17-2007, 07:08 PM

Looks like a variety of Cym. ensifolium to me, particularly with the spotted lip and narrow, sword-like leaves.

harrygermany · #3 07-18-2007, 03:17 PM

Hello Ray,

thanks for your suggestion.
The flower's shape looks like C. ensifolium.

But as far as I can say imho, to be a C. ensifolium it should be fragrant, and the whole plant shouldn't be that tall.
Besides that C. ensifolium flowers from late summer into early autumn.

Harry

weng · #4 07-18-2007, 07:53 PM

Hi Harry,

I think the clue to the ID of your plant must be the flower size of 9cm. This is significantly larger than any of the likely 'Chinese' cymbidiums.

Do you think it is perhaps a hybrid, with C faberi as one of the parents?

Weng

harrygermany · #5 07-19-2007, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weng

Do you think it is perhaps a hybrid, with C faberi as one of the parents?

Hello Weng,

thanks for your reply.

But this Cymbidium definitely is not been "artificially" cross-bred by a breeder.
It might be a natural hybrid or a non-fragrant Nepali Cymbidium variety, which means a new species.

Harry

Toddybear · #6 07-19-2007, 06:57 AM

C. goeringii is not always fragrant and the flower shape is something like that one, although your lateral petals are much more elongate than most I've seen..still perhaps its a variety I'm not familiar with.

weng · #7 07-20-2007, 11:54 AM

Hello Harry,

Now that is interesting!

I think it likely that you have an interesting variant rather than a completely new species.

Assuming that you don't have a preserved flower or a photograph of the lip, we can still start the ID process by looking at the vegetative parts of the plant.

How many leaves are there to a pseudobulb? Can we have a close-up photograph of the leaf tip?

Weng

harrygermany · #8 07-20-2007, 03:20 PM

Hi Weng,

sorry, but no camera at the moment.

To the leaves:
3-9 from one pseudobulb.
Every leaf has a clear middle rib and two lateral rips.
The margins have something like teeth. One can feel it.

What is it that you like to know from the leaf tip?

With thankful regards

Harry

weng · #9 07-20-2007, 06:48 PM

Hi Harry,

Thank you for the quick response. Accepting that we can not be certain without examining the flowers, we can still discount certain species:

Flower count
C goeringii only bears a single flower

Leaf count
C ensifolium 3-4
C kanran 3-4
C sinense 3-4

This leaves us with two possibles- C cyperifolium & C faberi, both of which can have 9 or more leaves.

Leaf Size
cyperifolium 50-90 x 0.9-1.5 cm
faberi 40-100 x 0.4-1.1 cm
Your measurements of 90-100 x 0.8 cm fall just outside those of cyperifolium on both counts.

On top of that, the serrulate (bearing small saw-like teeth) leaf margin of your specimen is found on faberi and not on cyperifolium.

The only problem so far, is that your flower is 9cm. Significantly larger than the 6cm typical of faberi. In fact, none of the above mentioned orchids are larger than 7cm, so you have one remarkable C faberi, probably var szechuanicum

If it is indeed a faberi. And yes, var. szechuanicum is found in Nepal.

Weng

PS. I was hoping to see from the photograph, the serrulate margin of the leaf, as well as the tip shape. Hands up those of you who think that all cymbidiums have the same shaped leaf tip!

harrygermany · #10 07-21-2007, 04:32 AM

Hello Weng,

thanks a million !!!

I had my question also in a forum of Cymbidium breeders, and yesterday they also guessed that it was C. faberi var szechuanicum.

So I am rather sure that your ID process was very well done and successful. Thanks again.

How did you classify? By heard (improbable)?
What identification book?

What I still do not know is, what tip shape of the leaf you expected.

But anyway, hope to read you again.

Harry