Help identifying wild cymbidium

[ArronOB]

I know this is a long shot - I would post this question on a local Australian site if I knew of one, but I don't so here goes.

I came across this orchid in the forest behind our house. At least I think its an orchid, I haven't even established that for definite yet. Unfortunately its about 6 metres up a tree and I have no way of getting up there for a closer look. As you can see from the photo of the roots, they look like orchid roots. And I don't know any local non-orchid epiphytes which it could be.

This orchid (we'll assume it is one) is growing on an old angophora tree, in a mixed angophora/scribblygum/ironbark forest. There are no other ephiphytes in this forest, at least I cant find any(well, I guess if its a Cymbidium here then its a saprophyte, so I should say there are no other plants living in trees).

The location is the Bouddi Peninsula, which is about 100km north of Sydney, on the coast.

Anyway, I think its either a Cymbidium suave or a Cymbidium canaliculatum, but I cant work out which one. Its probably suave, because that's common locally in other forest types nearby, but I cant rule out canaliculatum. Heres my reasoning:


Why it doesn't look like suave:

the plant looks too big

the leaves look too long and wide.

I cant see any of the extended monopodial growths, which earn suave the local name of snake orchid


Why it doesn't look like canaliculatum:

The leaves don't seem rigid enough, they will sway in a light breeze.


None of these are conclusive, but to me the width of the leaves is the most discordant thing.


Then there is the location issue:
suave is the local species. canaliculatum was originally described as a tropical species, but in recent years its known distribution has been pushed southward as far as Wyong (30km north of here). Its rare at this latitude though and those plants are definitely outliers. However if temperature is the limiting factor then its explainable because our microclimate would be warmer then Wyong. So again, nothing conclusive.


Then there is the personal bias issue:
if its a suave, then its just another suave. If its a canaliculatum then its probably a range extension - which feels like a personal achievement in some tiny way.


My main problem in id'ing this is I've never actually seen a canaliculatum, so I'm wondering if any reader has experience with them and can give some guidance.

thanks
Arron

[Ray]

No way to know until it blooms, and even then it's not guaranteed.

[ArronOB]

Originally Posted by Ray

No way to know until it blooms, and even then it's not guaranteed.

Thanks Ray, but I don’t understand your context. Are you saying this in relation to these two species in particular, or is that just a comment about wild cymbidiums generally.
These two species do look reliably different to me.

[Roberta]

I do grow canaliculatum, and the leaves are very hard and stiff. The leaves on this plant don't look anything like that to me. I don't know what it is, but I think it's safe to conclude that it isn't canaliculatum.

[ArronOB]

Thanks Roberta. That’s the judgement I was looking for. I knew they were stiff but to what degree I wasn’t sure.

I’m in no doubt it’s just a common old suave now.

Cheers
Arron