Orchid in TV show Grey's Anatomy

[RosieC]

I was re-watching Grey's Anatomy Series 5 last night and in the 'Stand by Me' episode the main patient has an orchid and his fiends who come to visit have never met him, only talked to him on an orchid forum and seen his avatar... the orchid he has with him in the hospital. They arrive carrying their avatar orchids (good job they happen to all be in flower just then right! ).

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has seen it and if you agree with me... the orchid he has doesn't look right for the name it's given.

It's named as coryanthes speciosa, and the flower shape is about right, although the flowers are too dark for pictures I've seen. But more importantly my understanding is that coryanthes speciosa flowers on pendulous spikes, and the one in the show looks like an upright Phal spike, even with buds that look like phal buds.

I know, I know, I'm probably analysing it too closely, hubby finds it amusing that in a scene with a guy with no face I'm looking at the orchid instead

[Daethen]

Tell your hubby that I would be doing the same thing.

[quiltergal]

I remember that episode but it's been too long since I've seen it to remember what the flowers looked like let alone what the called them.

[RosieC]

Hubby got season 1-5 on DVD for Christmas and we watched them through pretty quickly (we now have season 6 on order, season 7 is not released on DVD in the UK yet).

Anyway, I had to re-wind a couple of times to catch the name they gave it. I had not realised it was a feature of the episode when I first got him to rewind to try and get a clear view of it and see if I was right that it was an orchid at all (at which point I said "what on earth sort of orchid is that"). I get quite used to Phals or even Dens and Oncs used as just 'background dressing' in TV shows.

Not sure this one would have been picked for just background dressing as it was purposefully an ugly one. Meant to represent the patient's ugly face, and that only those who knew him could see the beauty, just as only those who know orchids could see the beauty in the ugly orchid.

But yeah... the guys face was half missing... and what I noticed more was the orchid instead

[Bud]

I dont watch that TV show, but we all know that the writers are not orchid growers but only lurked maybe on one of the forums and took some of this and some of that from members comments...and the prop people are definitely ignorant about orchids much less the directors...its good they had a coherent story that gels...
the prop and set and production crew will just go to a flower shop and ask for a similar flower according to the picture researched according to the script...I am amazed they can even pronounce the orchids properly

[camille1585]

Dang, now I'm curious to watch that episode and have a look. Except I don't have the DVDs, missed the last 3 seasons on TV and my preferred method of viewing series is mostly gone....

But I can't imagine the producers going through all the trouble of locating that specific orchid, when they could get a cheap orchid of some sort anywhere and viewers (other than us) wouldn't even notice. Or care for that matter

[WhiteRabbit]

hehe - this was the episode that got me started watching Grey's ... previously I'd only watched a bit here or there ...
Somebody here, or on FB, had posted about the episode after it originally aired, and I was interested to see it, and after that, went and rented all the previous seasons to watch

That was a very interesting plant - I think it must have been 'cosmetically' altered to give it the strangest possible appearance

I thought the story line was very sweet

[RosieC]

Unusually this is something I've watched from the start. Saw the first episode advertised and it caught my attention to ask hubby to record it, then we watched then all as they come out new on UK TV. It was only just before Christmas that we decided to buy the DVD's though.

It was a strange looking orchid and I think you are right about cosmetically altering it. Wanting it to look like most people's idea of an orchid plant (phal like spike, phal like arial root showing, both things you see in silk orchids) but with this wierd dark looking flower.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I see they were able to do their job by getting people talking about the show!

The entertainment industry likes to take certain liberties under the guise of creative license to handle certain details that are insignificant to the moving along of the story they want to tell. Apparently they've done it again!

Of course the reasons for not portraying the real Coryanthes speciosa is as stated by some in this thread already...

1. The producers may not know what a Coryanthes speciosa is nor would want to shell out the $ from the show's budget to get one.

2. The general public doesn't necessarily know what a Coryanthes speciosa is, unless they are an orchid hobbyist.

Most actors don't know what a Coryanthes speciosa is, let alone pronounce it.

3. It takes some skill to grow Coryanthes speciosa properly, which not very many people in production want to nor necessarily have the time to deal with.

4. It's not convenient for either the props department or the set dressers to specifically get a real Coryanthes speciosa, let alone one that is already in bloom.

They do, however, have a few props Phals or Cymbidiums at their disposal and a few silk or plastic flowers to just go ahead and fudge it.

After all, the "in" joke in the film and television industry is to, "Just fix it in post [production]." Of course, things like this are always a good, fun talking point for some people.

[Rowangreen]

Not seen the episode so can't really comment...

But it's also possibly that they contacted a grower, and asked for a range of orchids, including a 'really ugly one', and then read out the tag. Maybe they staked the flowers up to make them more handleable.

Or could it have been Coelogyne speciosa? Just found it while looking for the one you named!