Colmanara Masai Red

Colmanara Masai Red

This richly colored orchid is an old favorite from the New York Orchid show that makes an appearance every year.  In fact, I first photographed it back in 2013, as part of my Oncidiums of the 2013 Orchid Show post. 

The flowers are so showy, that I thought for sure this would be another very complicated hybrid. Surprisingly, Colmanara Masai Red is a simple cross between two species.  This orchid was first registered in 2007.

Colmanara Masai Red is a hybrid between Rhynchostele bictoniensis (seed parent), and Oncidium cariniferum (pollen parent).

Parentage of Colmanara Masai Red 

Photo Credits:

Rhynchostele bictoniensis photo by Stefano (see their Flickr photo gallery)

Oncidium Cariniferum photo (C) Eric Hunt (see his orchid photo website, also, Flickr gallery)

I can definitely see reflections of both parent species in Colmanara Masai Red.  IOSPE lists a "brown and purple" form of Rhynchostele bictoniensis, which has a more similar hue to Colmanara Masai Red.