Chinese Neofinetia species identification

[bk10]

Hello,
The Neo. labeled "shisen" I received from NWO in Dec. is flowering. The description was that it might be Neo. richardiana however, I'm thinking it more matches Neo. xichangensis based on the spur and the pinkish coloration. What do you all think? The leaves are kind of long and narrow and sort of folded. Thanks!

[DelawareJim]

Not to be brusk, but It's definitely not richardsiana. I have two and your spurs are too long.

I have a "set" on Flickr of them.
Neofinetia richardsiana - a set on Flickr

Kip Lambel has pictures of his xichangensis on Flickr as well. He would know about that species better than I.
IMG_4900 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

It's possible you have a regular falcata that happens to have some pink in it. Some do, some don't. Either way, it's an nice flower.

The folded leaves may be from being dry. They tend to do that when they get dry. When kept a little moister, the leaves look a little more triangular in shape.

Cheers.
Jim

[bk10]

Thanks Jim. I know that it isn't richardiana based on the spur. Would you start watering more? The leaves were that way when I bought it in Dec. I was keeping it on the dry side for the winter.

[DelawareJim]

I'd start watering more when you see new roots starting. Since it's in moss, that will tell how often. I grow in moss, bark, and in semi-hydro (LECA) and find the moss takes the longest to dry out. I also have a bit of a heavy hand with the water so after loosing a few I tend to keep my moss plants a little on the dry side.

If you do a search for xichangensis, there are a couple of threads on it with some of Kips pictures and if I remember, the paper describing the species is in there too. The paper was done in 2004. I think I have a PDF of it on my desktop if your interested.

Cheers.
Jim

[bk10]

I have the paper. I just don't have enough experience with Neofinetia (or a known one blooming right now) to compare.

[lambelkip]

it could be xichangensis. folded leaves are normal for that species, but Jim is right - it probably needs a little more water, and the leaves will stay open a bit. the spur length and flower color also seem to match xichangensis.
I haven't had access to that flickr account since June of last year, but I'll probably start a new one soon to post more orchid pictures.

[Craig Gibbon]

Hi,

My personal opinion is that this species is the Chinese form of N falcata. I have a clone from China and vegatively it is quite different to my Japanese and Korean wild N falcata clones. Due to Neofinetia falcata occurring over quite a large area, there will be quite a variation in the natural species. The spur length of your plant looks a little too long for it to be N xichangensis.

Regards,

Craig Gibbon

[Bud]

there is such a thing as:

Neofinetia falcata - Chinese Clone 'Shisen Furan'

'Shisen' is in your tag then I suggest you follow it.

one of the parents must be Neo. richardiana; that is why it was mentioned in the description.
You might have a hybrid Neo....
only your seller can answer your questions

---------- Post added at 05:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------

I went to New World Orchids site and found Shisen being sold....you are correct the description says: "Collected in China - Furan - possibly N. richardsonia. Smaller flowers than Neofinetia falcata, with long, thin leaves."

NWO is (possibly)=in doubt about its origins and its true name in providing the public with this information.

[Fairorchids]

According to NWO (at Parkside Orchid Fest 2014), they received a shipment labelled as richardsiana, but they turned out to be falcata.