Oops...It's a Vanda!

[Wathepleela]

This latest addition to my orchid family I'm afraid is not a Rhys. At the stall where I bought it the seller was no where in sight, just his/her phone number left on a cardboard sign. Consequently, between the old couple from the next stall who did not seem to be well versed in orchidspeak, and me who was not well versed in Thai speak period, we quickly came to the happy conclusion that this is an "elephant" (ie rhys in Thai) [and/or because of my utter conviction that it must be so, translated to "I won't leave without it!"]




Back home I can’t help but notice that its daintiness which was what seduced me in the first place definitely makes it stand out as an ugly duckling among my herd of elephants (rhys) [Or Cinderella rather, compared to the brutish look of its rhys brothers, this one carries itself more like a princess…]

I guess it’s a hybrid because it doesn’t have the flat fishbone shape of a vanda. Am I right or am I right? Its fragrance is typical rhys-istic though its roots are more timid, not elephant-tusky.

It would spare me from further sleepless nights if some one could id it for me (with latin name -is that genus? - and whatnot),

Thanks.

Elephant Man

[Wathepleela]

Hmmm, no help so far... Maybe a close-up of the bloom would give up some clue? Here it is:

[wintergirl]

It is a beautiful vandaceous-looking plant. Love those purple flowers.

[Fairorchids]

It looks like a hybrid of Rhy gigantea and something else. Need a better close-up of an individual flower to venture further (though probably not possible).

[Wathepleela]

Thank you for your assistance/compliment. The bloom is now gone and the spike is curling up. At its peak, the bloom extended way beyond the longest leaf which itself is about 9 in. The flower is small, its underside is purple but the color at the top is almost black, it’s as if you made tar out of grape juice. The texture is that of rubber, holding the flower I could almost swear it’s plastic! The lip is deeply ridged and thick, like a tiny gummy bear! The fragrance is not intense, which to me indicates this is a hybrid.

Now I’m kicking myself for not getting another one (-or two;-) On the same shopping trip where I got it after making the purchase I ran into another shop that was full of this kind of “vanda” but this lot is more crude than mine: their spike is shorter (but their flowers are even thicker) and the shape of the plant is more blunt as their leaves are also shorter. I went back to the market last week and the whole stock was gone, not one left in sight!

By the way is it true that hybrids will bloom several times per year as opposed to “purebreds” which bloom only once per year? This is what the seller said, trying to throw at me a young spotted hybrid with two thick long spikes ready to bloom any day now… Maybe I’ll go back next week and let myself be seduced to the point of no return (as in “no return without it!”) Coming to this place is really a true test of self-control and firm resolution. I had to chant to myself “I’m looking for an orange rhys, I don’t want anything else, I don’t want anything else…” Otherwise I would grab everything in sight come what may.

Wathep

[PaphMadMan]

You might want to compare your plant to Vandacostylis Sri-Siam (V. tessellata x Rhy. gigantea), Colmarie (Sri-Siam x gigantea) and Tubtim Siam (Sri-Siam x Colmarie). Colmarie is probably the most commonly seen. There obviously would be some other similar hybrids too. They seem to be a good match for yours. The heavy texture and intense color are typical.

Hybrids will often have extended or multiple bloom seasons when the parent species have different bloom seasons. If yours is Colmarie or a similar hybrid it can probably bloom at any time, though it might lean toward gigantea seasonality.

[Wathepleela]

Originally Posted by PaphMadMan

You might want to compare your plant to Vandacostylis Sri-Siam (V. tessellata x Rhy. gigantea), Colmarie (Sri-Siam x gigantea) and Tubtim Siam (Sri-Siam x Colmarie). Colmarie is probably the most commonly seen. There obviously would be some other similar hybrids too. They seem to be a good match for yours. The heavy texture and intense color are typical.

Hybrids will often have extended or multiple bloom seasons when the parent species have different bloom seasons. If yours is Colmarie or a similar hybrid it can probably bloom at any time, though it might lean toward gigantea seasonality.

Thanks PaphMadMan, leaning on your informative guidance I have come to identify my vanda as a (drumroll please....) Tubtim Siam (Sri-Siam x Colmarie.)

Exposition: someone has had a neat idea of crossbreeding a Sri-Siam with a Colmarie as to marry the graceful shape of the former's plant to the intense dark color of the latter's flower. The result is a shapely plant with a long train of flowers for a spike and the darkest "black" on its flowers one can imagine - if' it's any shade darker it will be pitch black!

I made the deduction based on pics of the parents I could find on this board. However the only tubtim present here is a Tubtim velvet, and it's nothing like my description above.

For the moment my tubtim has the best spot in the house (as in the pic) and it's responding favorably: scarcely two weeks in its new home, new root shoots are coming out, and a new leaf is also popping up (maybe it's been there since purchase but I didn't see it.) The only - slight and totally controllable - damage I have inflicted on it so far was watering it in the evening. Fungus black spots have appeared on several bottom leaves. I'm going to get some alcohol to wipe them with tomorrow and be mindful about how late in the day I can give it a bath. Right now even without flowers, the plant itself is a pleasure for the eye.

Thanks again PaphMadMan for your thorough research. You're the Man of the Hour!

[PaphMadMan]

You're welcome. I remembered the distinctive dark flowers of Colmarie, and the rest was easy with OrchidWiz. I'm certain that's the right type, but personally I would never put a definite name on a NoID hybrid.

[Wathepleela]

It did come with an ID tag. However I didn’t pay attention to it because a) the whole thing was in Thai and b) it looked quite ancient, ie dusty and pencil fading. So I couldn’t wait to strip it off! Now I know better, if nothing else I could have tried to spell what was written on the tag and that might have offered some clue.

Same example, one of my “young turk” rhys also came with a name tag but at the time I couldn’t care less about family lineage, genu and what not so I quickly ripped it off - now all I could do is wait and see for the first bloom and god knows when that will be? It came home with a tiny head of a spike poking out from inside a bottom leaf but that little guy never got any bigger, the whole time it only played hide and seek; then a couple of weeks ago I left them all out in the afternoon sun and that little spike head got fried to a brown one so there goes my fervent hope. If my memory does not play trick on me (though it does quite often lately) then the seller had told me at the time of purchase that this was a “red elephant” – but it could have been just hallucination caused by wishful thinking...

For the moment I and my NoID vanda have happily settled on “Cinderella” as its current nickname until I find a blueblood Tubtim Siam to compare it wth.