Maria's Orchids: oncidium hybrids

Showing posts with label oncidium hybrids. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Oncidopsis Yellow Parade 'Alpine'

This cheery yellow orchid is an old but still popular hybrid. The intergenic cross between Oncidium and Miltoniopsis results in compact plants that bloom with spikes of two to five 2.5-inch flowers. Oncidopsis Yellow Parade is a 1988 hybrid between Oncidopsis Yellow Bird and Oncidium Parade. It seems that the parents of this hybrid are no longer commonly cultivated, as I could not find images of their flowers.

I was, however, just barely able to complete the genealogy of this orchid. This orchid has 68 progenitors, resulting in a sprawling genealogy tree. However, in the mess that is typical of early 20th century orchid breeding, there are actually only 8 orchid species that have contributed to this cross. On the Miltoniopsis side of the family tree, only 2 Miltoniopsis species (M. vexillaria and M. roezli) have generated 16 progenitors.

All in all, it resulted in an intricate family tree that I encourage you guys to check it out. (the chart is much too large for the image embedded below to be legible, but it gives a scale to the breeding scheme.)

The very complicated genealogy of Oncidopsis Yellow Parade

One interesting observation revealed by Oncidium Yellow Parade's genealogy is how it is closely related to several of the other Oncidium hybrids I've profiled recently.

For example, Oncidium Brimstone Butterfly and Oncidium Golden Guinea are common progenitors for both Oncidopsis Yellow Parade and Oncostele Wildcat (which is itself a progenitor to several orchids I've written about. The progenitors of Brimstone Butterfly and Golden Guinea account for 34 out of the total 68 orchids that went into the breeding of Oncidopsis Yellow Parade. Essentially, Oncidopsis Yellow Parade shares about 50% of its genetics with Wildcat, Catatante and Sunkissed.

Oncidopsis Yellow Parade also contains ALL 16 of the progenitors that went into breeding Oncidium Midas.

These oncidium intergenics are closely related

Maria's Orchids: Oncidium Midas

Maria's Orchids: Oncostele Wildcat

There is definitely a similarity in the flower shape and general looks of Oncidopsis Yellow Parade and Oncostele Wildcat. The resemblence to Oncidium Midas is less pronounced by not completely absent.

Additionally, I have located my new record for oldest oncidium hybrid: Oncidium Wilckeanum. This hybrid was registered in 1880! O. Wilckeanum is a naturally occuring cross between Oncidium alexandre and Oncidium luteopurpureum. During the late 1800's orchid enthusiasts would attempt to replicate natural hybrids by crossing the species they suspected to be parents of a given hybrid orchid. Oncidium Wilckeanum was one of the very first hybrids to have its parentage registered and recognized (though not without continuing controversy and debate). No one seems to grow this cross anymore, however, as I could not find any images of what this hybrid may have looked like.

Finally these are all of the 8 species that were bred together to create Oncidopsis Yellow Parade: 6 species of Oncidium and 2 Miltoniopsis.

Progenitor species for Oncidopsis Yellow Parade

Photo credits:

Oncidium alexandre and Oncidium spectatissimum by Orchi

Oncidium nobile and Miltoniopsis vexillaria by Quimbaya (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium luteopurpureum by Dick Culbert (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium hallii by Andreas Kay (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium harryanum by Diego Rodriguez (Flickr gallery)
Miltoniopsis roezlii, by Strohero (wikimedia commons)

Sunday, July 3, 2016

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.

Monday, May 9, 2016

Oncidium Rosy Sunset 'F'

Oncidium Rosy Sunset blooms with an abundance of tiny pink flowers. The flowers are very three-dimensional, making this orchid extra challenging to photograph. It's also the last oncidium that I'll be writing about for a while--although I'll have plenty more oncostele, oncidopsis, oncostelopsis, brascidostele, and all sorts of other intergenic craziness.

Parentage of Oncidium Rosy Sunset

Photo credits:

Oncidium Pupukea Sunset by Cliff (Flickr orchid gallery)

Oncidium sotoanum by Jorge Daniel Cornu (Flickr gallery)

Sidenote: Jorge has some stunning orchid photography on his Flickr gallery that is really worth checking out.

Oncidium Rosy Sunset was registered in 1997. It is a cross between Oncidium Pupukea Sunset and Oncidium sotoanum. The resulting hybrids have varying degrees pink and orange hues. The clone 'F' which I photographed is on the pink end of the spectrum. Meanwhile 'Pacific Sunset' has a truly lovely mix of pink and yellow shades that very much resemble a summer sunset. Another clone 'Rosebud' looks like a deeper pink version of 'F'.

Lineage of Oncidium Rosy Sunset

The full lineage of Oncidium Rosy Sunset is remarkably simple. As shown above, it is a cross of 3 different oncidium species. Once again, the ever promiscuous Oncidium fuscatum shows up in the lineage (I've also found this species in the background of Oncidium Ron's Rippling Delight, Oncidium Volcano Midnight, Oncidium Irish Mist, and Oncostele Wildcat. I fully expect to come across this species a few more times in the future as I do the lineages of various Oncidium intergenics.

Progenitors of Oncidium Rosy Sunset

Photo credits:

Oncidium cheirophorum, by Association Auboise d'Orchidophilie Exotique

Oncidium fuscatum by Eduardo A. Pacheco (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium sotoanum by Jorge Daniel Cornu (Flickr gallery)

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Oncidium Midas 'Willow Pond'

This cheery yellow oncidium is actually one of the older hybrids I've yet written about. Oncidium Midas was registered in 1940, as a cross between Oncidium Ascania and Oncidium Reve d'Or. The clone 'Willow Pond' has earned the AM/AOS distinction. This oncidium resembles the tolumnia orchids--the small, compact plant body produces an abundance of flowers.

Oncidium Midas genealogy

If any of this genealogy tree looks familiar, that is because Oncidium Reve d'Or is also a significant contributor to the genealogy of Oncostele Wildcat. These are old crosses, and neither Oncidium Ascania, nor Oncidium Reve d'Or are popularly grown anymore. But perhaps what is more curious is that Oncidium Midas, a cross made 76 years ago, is still widely available.

Another interesting find in this history tree is my new record for the oldest Oncidium cross ever. Take a look at Oncidium Excellens--it was registered in 1891!

Oncidium Excellens (hybrid from 1891)

Image credit: by F. Sander, 1892. (Wikimedia commons image)

Back to Oncidium Midas. There are 5 Oncidium species which went into the creation of this cross: luteopurpureum, nobile, alexandre, spectatissimum, and harryanum.

Progenitors of Oncidium Midas

Photo credits:

Oncidium harryanum by Diego Rodriguez (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium alexandre and Oncidium spectatissimum by Orchi

Oncidium nobile by Quimbaya (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium luteopurpureum by Dick Culbert (Flickr gallery)

Note: Oncidium alexandre is also commonly referred to as Oncidium crispum.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Oncidium Ron's Rippling Delight

If the last two orchids could be described as elegant (Oncidium Irish Mist) and showy (Oncidium Volcano Midnight), then this one falls in the category of 'strikingly odd'. At least in my opinion.

This is a slightly older hybrid, registered in 1980. Looking at the flower shape, I would have expected for Oncidium fuscatum to once again show up somewhere in the parentage of this orchid. And indeed, this is the case.

Oncidium Ron's Rippling Delight is a primary hybrid between two Oncidium species: Oncidium fuscatum and Oncidium schroederianum. More than any hybrid I've yet posted about, this orchid looks like a direct mix of its parents.

Parentage of Oncidium Ron's Rippling Delight

Photo credits:

Oncidium schroederianum by Arne and Bent Larsen (Wikimedia commons gallery)

Oncidium fuscatum by Eduardo A. Pacheco (Flickr gallery)

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Oncidium Volcano Midnight 'Volcano Queen'

I am continuing my series of posts on the orchids from this years New York Orchid Show. I'd like to stick with the oncidiums and related hybrids, so at to better draw connections between the orchids I write about. I am noticing various species showing up again and again in my genealogy trees, and this will let me better highlight such links. Once I finish with the oncidium-like orchids, I will move on to other genera.

Closeup of Oncidium Volcano Midnight 'Volcano Queen'

The orchid of this post is Oncidium Volcano Midnight 'Volcano Queen'. It is a showy and prolific plant, with numerous sprays of burgundy and cream colors. The hybrid was registered in 2009 by Akatsuka Orchid Gardens, a Hawaii based orchid nursery.

Genealogy of Oncidium Volcano Midnight

The genealogy of this hybrid is relative simple. The breeding scheme looks deliberate. What I mean by this is, there is none of the twisted knots of crosses and back-crosses like seen in the lineage of Oncostele Wildcat, for example. This genealogy tree shows basically the most efficient way to combine 5 orchid species into one hybrid.

Orchid species in background of Oncidium Volcano Midnight

Photo credits:

Oncidium sphacelatum, by AntanO (Wikimedia commons)

Oncidium fuscatum by Eduardo A. Pacheco (Flickr gallery)

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

Oncidium incurvum, by Averater (Wikimedia commons)

Oncidium nezlianum, by orchid-a-day.tumblr.com/

Here are the five species that were bred to create Oncidium Volcano Midnight. Once again, Oncidium fuscatum shows up in the mix. This species has also come up in the genealogy of Oncidium Irish Mist and Oncostele Wildcat. It is a widely used species in oncidium breeding because of its numerous, plentiful flowers, and because it hybridizes easily with other oncidium species.

I've also come across Oncidium cariniferum before; it is a parent of Colmanara Masai Red. I have not yet encountered Oncidium noezlianum before, but I was struck by the lush red tones of its flowers. Unsurprisingly, this stunning species has also been frequently used in the creation of many modern oncidium hybrids. In fact, it has been a direct parent to 160 hybrids.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Oncidium Irish Mist 'Big Hot Sun'

This oncidium really captured my attention at the New York Orchid show this year. It is an understated and elegant kind of orchid. Something about the delicate apple-green hue of these flowers makes them stand out among other brighter and showier orchids. The judges at the American Orchid Society must have agreed, when they awarded the clone 'Big Hot Sun' with the Award of Merit (AM) distinction.

Oncidium Irish Mist 'Big Hot Sun' zoomed out view

Oncidium Irish Mist is a primary hybrid between two South American orchid species: Oncidium multistellare and Oncidium fuscatum. It was registered by Mauna Kea Orchids in 2009. In addition to 'Big Hot Sun', there is another clone named 'Wintergreen'. The two clones seem to have identical looking flowers.

Oncidium Irish Mist parentage: a primary cross between Oncidium multistellare and Oncidium fuscatum

Photo credits:

Oncidium multistellare, by Association Aboise d'Orchidophilie Exotique

Oncidium fuscatum by Eduardo A. Pacheco (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium Irish Mist is highly fragrant, due to its parent Oncidium fuscatum. The color of the flowers appears to be primarily inherited from Oncidium multistellare, and the flower shape is a mixture of both parents.

If Oncidium fuscatum looks familiar, that is because it was also a progenitor for Oncostele Wildcat. This orchid species is frequently used in oncidium hybridizing, and I expect I'll be coming across it again in future posts.

More photos:

Saturday, March 19, 2016

The many faces of Oncostele Wildcat

Oncostele Wildcat

This is Oncostele Wildcat. It is an orchid hybrid with a wide variety of color patterns. The five flowers in the image above are ones that I've personally photographed during different years of the New York Orchid Show. However, searching online for 'Oncostele Wildcat' reveals an even broader range of flower shapes and colors.

This hybrid, which was registered in 1992, is widely popular, and has a great diversity of flowers. I had a lot of fun researching its background. Digging into the ancestry of Oncostele Wildcat is like going into the very history of orchid breeding itself.

Check out this crazy lineage tree.

Geneology of Oncostele Wildcat

[Side note: I'm having a difficult time getting these lineage trees to look sharp in preview mode, especially on mobile. Blogger does not have an option for uploading SVG files. Anyone have a suggestion how to best upload detailed diagrams without losing resolution?]

Things start out fairly normal; Oncostele Wildcat is a cross between Oncostele Rustic Bridge and Oncidium Crowborough. However, after that things get complicated and the genealogy tree turns into a complicated web of crosses and back-crosses. In the parentage of Oncidium Crowborough are 6 generations of orchid hybrids, dating as far back as 1898!

For reference, the mid-1800's were the peak of Victorian era orchid mania, when explorers traveled around the world to collect wild orchids. The first known orchid hybrid was made in 1853 (Calanthe Dominii [Calanthe masuca x Calanthe furcata]. Only 40 years later, the hybrids at the top of Wildcat's genealogy tree may be some of the first oncidium crosses ever made.

Without a history book on orchid cultivation at my disposal, I could not definitively figure out what was the first registered oncidium hybrid. However, this patent references a cross by Vuylsteke made in 1898 as the first time an oncidium was hybridized in cultivation. The patent doesn't specify the cross, which could be referring to either Oncidium Ardentissimum or Oncidium Rolfeae. However, both of these very early hybrids are in the family tree of Oncostele Wildcat.

Oncostele Wildcat is made from 9 orchid species: 1 Rhynchostele, and 8 Oncidiums.

Rhynchostele uroskinneri, Oncidium fuscatum, Oncidium leucochilum, Oncidium alexandre, Oncidium spectatissimum, Oncidium nobile, Oncidium luteopurpureum, Oncidium hallii, Oncidium harryanum

Progenitors of Oncostele wildcat

Photo credits:

Rhynchostele uroskinneri by FireOpal (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium fuscatum by Eduardo A. Pacheco (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium leucochilum by Arne and Bent Larsen Orchid collection

Oncidium alexandre and Oncidium spectatissimum by Orchi

Oncidium nobile by Quimbaya (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium luteopurpureum by Dick Culbert (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium hallii by Andreas Kay (Flickr gallery)

Oncidium harryanum by Diego Rodriguez (Flickr gallery)

Note: Oncidium alexandre is also commonly referred to as Oncidium crispum.

The genealogy tree for Oncostele Wildcat shows that Oncidium alexandre was crossed into this hybrid 6 different times. It looks like the overall flower shape of Oncostele Wildcat and Oncidium alexandre are highly similar. Another overachiever, Oncidium spectatissimum, was bred into the cross 3 times; it has many similar dark and bright orange markings as Oncostele Wildcat. However, with a hybrid this complicated, it may be futile to try and parse out how each individual species contributed to the end result.

And finally, these are the larger versions of the photographs that comprised my title image.

Oncostele Wildcat

Oncostele Wildcat 'Carmela'

Oncostele Wildcat 'Cheetah'

Oncostele Wildcat 'Everlasting'

Oncostele Wildcat 'Silver Cool Room'

Sunday, March 10, 2013

New York Orchid Show 2013: Oncidiums

Aliceara Tropic Tom

Oncidium hybrids and intergenics were some of the best represented genera at the New York Orchid show this year. There were giant sprays of these blooms absolutely everywhere throughout the greenhouses. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.