Gomesa ID

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your replies!

Philip,
Your words are quite encouraging! Thank you!

Couldn't this just be an anomalous specimen with thinner petals just as some others have bigger petals? In other words,in general,could it be one of the species in the crispae section and just have thinner than normal petals or is the petal width a significant ID character as well?

Unfortunately,we don't have any exceptional botanical garden here that i am aware of,but we do have one with a decent collection,compared to other ones in Greece. I will try contacting them and see if they would be willing to help with its identification as well. Thank you very much for the suggestion!

In the meantime,all suggestions and ideas as well as info on how to ID species of this genus,are greatly appreciated!

Thank you very much in advance!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Orchid taxonomy is very messy, hence why there's the whole certain species that were once in the genus Oncidium moving to Gomesa nonsense.

Part of this is due to the new advent of DNA testing.

If you're using floral morphology to determine the taxonomy of a certain orchid, there are lots of specifics that go into it. Many of these specifics are oftentimes minute details most people would miss.

One of the things to look for in floral morphology is the labellum (lip)..

Are there any calluses? If so, what are the characteristics of those calluses? How big is the callus? Is it pronounced or not, etc.?

Are there any ridges, appendages, or dentition on the lip or callus? If so what are their characteristics and how many of them are there?

Another thing to look for would be the column...

Are there any appendages or dentition on the column?

How long is the column? How wide is it?

How big is the stigmatic opening?

Petals and sepals, the same thing.

I think you get the point.

Using floral morphology alone is not adequate, you must also use the vegetative morphology as well.

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your reply and info!

I would be happy to do this kind of detail checking but i dont have these details for most species and dont even have a good,detailed flower shot of the one i have...So it does seem kinda hard...

I contacted the biggest local botanic garden and asked them to help me ID my orchid last Friday. I have yet to hear from them but i hope they will eventually reply. Being the largest botanic garden in our part of Europe,i dont think they would like to just tell me they were unable to ID it and leave it there....

Lets see what they think of it...

[Tsuchibuta]

Personally I doubt the plant is a Gomesa at all. All the Gomesa species I had and grew before I sold my collection had much smaller pseudobulbs and the flowers weren't as showy as other oncidium species. I also disagree that it couldn't be a hybrid, I think most likely it is, there are hordes of less than stellar crosses out there, especially in the Oncidium genera.

I do think the crispa section of oncidium is most likely in it's heritage. Also for somebody to consider this a new species in the modern era, with all the breeding going on throughout the world (both professionally and hobbists) there should be some sort of geographic data as well.

Hopefully the botanical garden will be able to shed better light on the subject for you, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your reply!

The thing is,this was bought as a pure species,a Oncidium crispum,and wasnt a plant of a mass orchid outlet. Also,this seller doesnt list any hybrids of this genus for sale which would only allow for a spontaneous hybridization during the pollination. Supposedly this shouldnt happen as well,but i know that things can happen unfortunately...

I am also not convinced the botanic garden will make a positive ID but i really hope it may help conclude somewhere more specific/rule out a few things,or use its connections to get help for the ID if they are really interested. Just hoping...