A crossing of two giants: Rhynvandopsis Memoria Mary Nattrass

Rhynvandopsis Memoria Mary Nattrass (aka Opsistylis)

This orchid is absolutely one of my favorite flowers.  I love the sharp contrast of the patterning on these large waxy flowers. Rhynvandopsis Memoria Mary Nattrass is a primary hybrid between Vandopsis gigantea and Rhynchostylis gigantea, registered in 1972.

Parentage of Rhynvandopsis Memoria Mary Nattrass

Image credits:

Vandopsis gigantea , by Malcolm Manners, Wikimedia Commons image

Rhynchostylis gigantea by Elena Gaillard, Wikimedia Commons image

The parent species are themselves large and showy orchids.  Vandopsis gigantea reportedly has leaves that can reach half a meter in length, while Rhynchostylis gigantea can produce as many as 50 flowers on each inflorescence. 

Interestingly, Rhynchostylis gigantea comes in a great number of variants--the flowers can be white, pink, peach or wine colored, with very different amounts of speckling. This variability translates to Rhynvandopsis Memoria Mary Nattrass as well, which can have different hues and color patterns depending on which variant of Rhynchostylis gigantea was used to generate a given hybrid.

More images of the stunning Rhynvandopsis Memoria Mary Nattrass: