Mystery Plant - Orchid Board

MESFLR · #1 03-29-2012, 09:42 AM

I am trying to identify the orchid in the attachment. It is a large plant with one bloom on the stalk.

Thank you,
Mary Ellen

No picture of the flower, but here is a description.

The flowers were small, yellow flowers that to me looked something like a snap dragon flower. They lasted only one day! Also, they were at the end of a long spike that took about three or four months to grow. I though the spike was some kind of rooting shoot but one day there were flowers.

b amateur · #2 03-29-2012, 09:52 AM

A photo of the bloom would be most helpful.

Ray · #3 03-29-2012, 11:52 AM

It looks like a neomarica to me - the so-called "Apostle Plant" (because it's supposed to need to have 12 leaves to bloom). It is also known as a "walking iris", as once the blossom that grows on the leaf edge fades, a plant grows there, weighing down the leaf until it reaches the ground and roots.

I have Neomarica gracilis, and am currently rooting some in S/H pots to put up for sale in our store:

There are two other species, one blue, one yellow.

ronaldhanko · #4 03-29-2012, 12:09 PM

Ray is correct on the ID, but it isn't an orchid.

Ray · #5 03-30-2012, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronaldhanko

Ray is correct on the ID, but it isn't an orchid.

I was so focused on the photo, I didn't catch that part of the query! Nope. It's an iris, native to sandy river banks in Brazil, for the most part.

MESFLR · #6 04-10-2012, 09:50 AM

The flowers were small, yellow flowers that to me looked something like a snap dragon flower. They lasted only one day! Also, they were at the end of a long spike that took about three or four months to grow. I though the spike was some kind of rooting shoot but one day there were flowers.

BruceP · #7 04-10-2012, 12:39 PM

Then it is likely Neomarica longifolia (Yellow Walking Iris).

PaphMadMan · #8 04-10-2012, 10:20 PM

It certainly looks like a Neomarica, and the short life of the flower would also be characteristic, but it seems unlikely that any Neomarica could be described as a snapdragon-like flower. MESFLR, can you do a web search for pics of Neomarica and see how it compares?

Oh... and there are something like 20 species of Neomarica, several of which are yellow.