Wild NoID -- Cymbidium?

[Curtis2010]

Went out for a paddle recently and discovered an orchid hidden back in the swamp that I had not noticed before. Based upon the leaf and pseudopod shape I am guessing (very novice guess) that it is a Cymbidium. The recent flowers had wilted, but I managed to straighten one out a bit and take a pic of it (attached) -- the flower structure was still reasonably intact, but of course the color is off. it looked like just one flower per spike, but not sure since they were all wilted.

Habitat: sea level, warm and humid.

Anyone else think this is a Cymbidium -- or not?

Thanks.

[gnathaniel]

Probably not, I think the genus Cymbidium is naturally confined to Asia and Oceania. Based on the vegetation and floral shape I'd guess something in Maxillaria, maybe in the newly segregated Maxillariella genus?

--Nat

[gnathaniel]

Pretty awesome that you can see these out in the woods, BTW!

--Nat

[Curtis2010]

Originally Posted by gnathaniel

Probably not, I think the genus Cymbidium is naturally confined to Asia and Oceania. Based on the vegetation and floral shape I'd guess something in Maxillaria, maybe in the newly segregated Maxillariella genus?

--Nat

Thanks for the ID suggestion. I will take a look at Maxillaria and Maxillariella.

[Curtis2010]

Originally Posted by Curtis2010

Thanks for the ID suggestion. I will take a look at Maxillaria and Maxillariella.

Yes, looks like it probably is a Maxillaria to me. There are several Maxillaria which occur wild here in Guate. The one that appears to be the best match is Maxillaria Tenuifolia. Will have to wait for another round of flowers to confirm.

Thanks.

[gnathaniel]

You're welcome! Growth habit and PB shape look a little different from tenuifolia to me, but you've obviously gotten a better look at it than I have. Definitely a flower would help confirm ID, especially if only a few species are known native to the area. Thanks again for posting these cool photos!

--Nat

[gnathaniel]

Actually, scratch what I just said, the growth habit does look a lot like tenuifolia, which tends to kind of climb as new pseudobulbs come out. Leaves looks a little wider than I'm used to seeing on tenuifolia, but I'm no expert and I may be getting an inaccurate impression due to the perspective of the photo. I guess I should look twice before I post!

--Nat

[Curtis2010]

The book I have on Guatemalan orchids says the Tenuifolia blooms from Feb - May....which means I may miss them this time around...we plan to be off cruising no later than early March. Hopefully I will catch some blooms before we leave.

I think I noticed this plant partially because I just saw a huge one at a Marina owned by a friend of mine. It still had flowers on it -- so maybe I can get back by there and get a look.

[glengary54]

Curtis - I believe what you have there is Trigonidium egertonianum.

[Curtis2010]

Thanks will take a look at that possibility too!