Bifrenaria inodora question

[smweaver]

This might be a dumb question (judging by this species' name), but does anyone know whether or not Bifrenaria inodora has any fragrance (similar to its cousins, harrisoniae or tyrianthina)? I know the name means "without odor," but I also know that species names when translated from latin can sometimes be misleading (Dendrobium anosmum, for example, is anything but non-fragrant, in spite of its name). Thanks in advance to anyone who's familiar with Bifrenaria inodora--and hopefully its scent!

Steve

[Rosim_in_BR]

Hi Steve,
This is one of those cases where the original description has been made upon a dry specimen and the chosen name unfortunately has nothing to do with the real thing. Bifrenaria inodora is a very perfumed species.

[Dorothy]

According to Jay's Encyclopedia - IOSPE PHOTOS
It's (sometimes) Fragrant!
Bonus

[smweaver]

Thank you, Maura and Dorothy, for your response. Mauro, I'm glad you indicated that inodora is strongly scented. I'm going to go ahead and get one now and add it to my growing collection of Brazilian orchids. I already have a harrisoniae and a tyrianthina. So hopefully the inodora will feel at home with them. Thanks again for your feedback.

Steve

[Frdemetr]

Hi Steve,
I have some Bifr. inodora varieties, and all (as Mauro stated) are fragrant!

[smweaver]

That's excellent, Frederico! I ordered one yesterday and should receive it next week sometime. It's an adult plant, so hopefully I'll get to see some flowers next spring. Does it need a cool and dry winter rest like harrisoniae and tyrianthina?

Steve

[Frdemetr]

Steve,
"Cool" is not exactly what happens in their habitat, but a dry period is desirable; they will bloom anyway, Bifrenarias are very kind plants! The older name of Bifr inodora (Bifrenaria fuestenbergiana), now invalid, although not descriptive, was better than "inodora", which is simply wrong.
Besides de "type" inodora (yellow/green sepals/petals, purple lip), I have the "violacea" (for me identical to 'type', only the 'purple' in the lip is 'more purple' !), the "alba" form and an unidentified variety, with orange lip, which was very very hard to obtain (it was a problem to convince the owner of the plant to sold me a piece! - to the best of my knowledge this is the only plant - now two plants! - of this variety in cultivation!).
I don't know about other varieties, but I'm sure that their exist - these kind of Bifrenarias with big flowers (inodora, tyrianthina and harrisoniae) and also mellicolor and calcarata (two of another big flowered group) have dozens of color varieties - individual plants of the same variety are usually different each other!

[smweaver]

How cool does it get in their habitat, Frederico? Is the dry season for them completely dry, or is there an occasional rain shower--and how long does the dry season last? I had the impression that they are adaptable, as I've been able to acclimate my plants to taking more sun than any of my Cattleyas (with the exception of C. amethystoglossa, which shares the same bench with the bifrenarias) are able to handle. None of the bifrenarias seem to have been bothered by the very hot and humid summer we just had. But I do want to make sure I have a good idea of what kind of winter rest period they will need in order to flower next spring.

You have quite a few varieties of inodora. The grower I got my inodora from indicated that its varietal name is 'Alfredo,' which received an HCC from the AOS at some point in the past. I have no idea what color combinations to expect from its flowers. I have a standard harrisoniae and tyrianthina, and I just purchased an alba variety of harrisoniae. The standard harrisoniae I bought last year also flowered for me last spring. It only produced two flowers, but they were beautiful, and very fragrant too--although the fragrance was so strong when you got close to the flowers that it became somewhat overpowering (it was more pleasant from a distance). The plants themselves are, to me, beautiful even without the flowers. I like the very masculine appearance the angular pseudobulbs and leathery leaves have. My only concern (other than wanting to make sure I provide them with an appropriate winter rest) is that I've read that they don't like to be repotted. So I'll try to be very careful when they time eventually arrives.

Thanks very much for sharing your information on the bifrenarias! No one else around me (that I know of) grows them, so it's good to have a knowledgeable resource to go to when I have questions.

Steve

[Frdemetr]

Hi Steve!
About "cool" and dry season: during later fall/early winter the temp drops to 10/12ºC at night for a few days, seldom below 8ºC, and is relatively humid. During later winter/early spring the temp is higher (min 15/20ºC max 25/30ºC) and is very dry. But in cultivation Bifrs are very kind, you could water one time per week in the winter and twice in the rest of the year and they will be OK. Sprays in the early morning are welcome too.
Bifr inodora in epiphytic, seldom lithophytic (rupiculous), and is more tolerant to humidity excess in the winter; Bifr harrisoniae is epiphytic and facultatively rupiculous, so less tolerant to humidity in the winter. Thyrianthina is strictly rupiculous, the less tolerant one (but it will survive anyway).
I love Bifr too, even without flowers! The Genus is almost exclusive brazilian (except two species we share with neighbors countries) and in general very easy to grow and bloom (well, at least in southeastern Brazil, when I live and the majority of species came from!)Unfortunately the 'small-flowered' Bifrenarias are very poorly known outside Brazil (they are called Stenocoryne or Adipe, but are in fact real Bifrenarias). maybe because they are a little bit more demanding in cultivation. You can see some of these beauties in my gallery.

[smweaver]

Thank you, Frederico, for the follow-up information! I'm glad you indicated that they don't need a strict dry winter rest. Now I won't do as I had planned and treat them like the deciduous Lycastes in my collection (aromatica, cruenta and macrobulbon). I'll keep them with the Idas (ciliata, fimbriata and reichenbachii) instead. I've heard about the lesser-known Bifrenarias you mentioned, but I've never seen one firsthand. Perhaps after I "master" the art of growing and flowering the more tolerant ones that I currently have, I'll give the others a try (assuming that I can find them somewhere here in the US). Thanks again for your feedback. It's greatly appreciated.

Steve