Brascidostele Gilded Tower 'Mystic Maze'

Brascidostele Gilded Tower 'Mystic Maze'

This may be my favorite oncidium intergenic ever.  It is almost certainly the most photogenic I've come across.  Brascidostele Gilded Tower 'Mystic Maze' stole my attention at both the 2015 and the 2016 New York Orchid Show.

Brascidostele Gilded Tower 'Mystic Maze'

I absolutely adore these large vibrant flowers.  The blooms are 3.5 inches wide, on tall arching inflorescences. There are two other named clones of this hybrid, displaying variants on the color scheme. 'Tessa' is an overall lighter flower, with a cream lip. 'Thai Gold' has the brown spotting of the main petals extend all the way out to the tips.

Brascidostele Gilded Tower is a 2005 cross between Brassostele Summit and Brassidium Gilded Urchin.  The full genealogy, a fairly simple one, is shown below.

Genealogy of Brascidostele Gilded Tower

Four orchid species, from three different genera have gone into the creation of this hybrid: Rhynchostele bictoniensis, Brassia keiliana, Brassia arcuigera, and Oncidium wentworthianum.  Here is what they look like:

Progenitors for Brascidostele Gilded Tower

Photo Credits:

Rhynchostele bictoniensis photo by Stefano (see their Flickr photo gallery)
Oncidium wentworthianum photo by Orchids Wikia user, Cs california

Brassia arcuigera by Andreas Kay (Link to Flickr gallery)

Brassia keiliana by Association Auboise d'Orchidophilie Exotique

I wonder who came up with the naming for a Rhynchostele/Brassia/Oncidium intergenic-- 'Brascidostele' is such an awkward mouthful of a name.  The crossing makes such strikingly gorgeous orchids that I wish it had a prettier name to grace them with.