Catasetum J and R Solar
 

Back on July 21, I showed some of my early Catasetinae, including Ctsm. J and R Solar (Ctsm Dragon's Teeth 'Sunset Valley Orchids' x fimbriataum var. morrenianum 'Sunset Valley Orchids') - with male flowers. At that time it had another spike - which has just bloomed, with female flowers. So here are both sexes of flowers, from the same plant. While ideal conditions (more light, more fertilizer) increases the odds of getting female flowers, sometimes the plant just does what it wants to do - this is the same plant, growing under the same conditions, the female spike was already developing when the male spike bloomed.

Very cool Roberta! I'm not a Catasetum grower, and know very little, but if both spikes bloomed simultaneously, could one self the plant and expect a successful seedpod to develop?

David

I would expect so. I have had Catasetums with flowers of both sexes on the same inflorescence, too. (Ctsm. expansum especially) I suspect in any of these cases, all that would be needed is a pollinator. But that's pure speculation on my part. Perhaps someone with actual experience will jump in and verify or not.

I expect that the first scientists to observe this fascination group of plants were really puzzled... the flowers look so totally different. This one, the female at least has strong color. For those that don't have such intense color, the females all look pretty much alike...one has to have male flowers to make an ID.

Truly fascinating. I would assume that the dimorphism in the flowers is innately a mechanism to help prevent self-pollination, which might indicate that the plants are indeed self-compatible.

I purchased my first Catasetum-type (Cyc. cooperi) and have been so intrigued watching the bulb develop, and now the beginnings of its first spike. I'm sure it'll be spectacular!

David

Those are some seriously cool looking female blooms! Love it!

Well, it looks to me like the dimorphism would not necessarily prevent self-pollination within the same plant (but most of the time it does, if the two sexes of flowers develop at different times as was the case here) but it certainly would prevent selfing of a single flower - which happens quite often with many orchids. In this case it did prevent the possibility of selfing - the male flowers of mid-July were long gone before the females opened.

Really nice blooms! Even the females are attractive. Kind of an odd name for the cross though.

Yes, you can self a Catasetum this way

Odd indeed. the cross was by Fred Clarke, but it was registered by someone else... Orchidwiz says "Reg by Butts & Lefaive" ... No awards, someone took a liking to it, no doubt asked Fred if he was going to register it, he didn't so they did... and that's probably their company. If the originator agrees, anybody can register a grex name.

Bernie Butts & Chuck Lefaive are very active Catasetum hybridizers in Toronto. If I remember, I'll ask them on Facebook about the name J and R Solar!

It definitely reduces the odds of selfing a lot as simultaneous male and female flowering is sort of unusual. But I think another big benefit that it offers is that plants that are too weak to produce seed can still get their genes out into population by producing male flowers that won't result in the plant having to expend the resources needed to grow a big seed pod.
In my observation of C. maculatum in the wild is that shaded plants will produce long skinny P-bulbs and male flowers. Plants that get full sun and enough water and nutrients will produce fat p-bulbs and female flowers. And really big plants will often start the season with some male flowers and then later produce female ones.