Tsubotaara Melinda Marie 'Blue Fairy'

Tsubotaara Melinda Marie 'Blue Fairy'

I came across this striking blue orchid at the 2018 New York Orchid Show.  The bloom was hidden behind a glass enclosure, labeled with a genus I had never seen before: Tsubotaara.  What kind of orchid could this be?  

According to the International Orchid Register, Tsubotaara Melinda Marie is a cross between Pabanisia Eva's Blue Amazon and Zygonisia Cynosure.  The hybrid was registered in 2010 by Kalapana Tropicals, a Hawaii-based orchid wholesaler.  A relatively miniature plant, this hybrid blooms with beautiful, oversized bluish flowers.

Tsubotaara Melinda Marie = Pabanisia Eva's Blue Amazon x Zygonisia Cynosure

Photo credits:

Pabanisia Eva's Blue Amazon: DementedPimento (Reddit) 

Zygonisia Cynosure: Maria's Orchids, 2016 New York Orchid show

The full genealogy of Tsubotaara Melinda Marie includes contribution from four different orchid genera.

Curiously, I could not find any photos of Zygopetalum graminifolium while researching this genealogy.  The image depicted below is gathered from a print from Jean Linden, a prominent orchid botanist from the 19th century. This is a species that does not appear to be frequently cultivated or photographed by orchid enthusiasts.  Nor was this ever a particularly popular species among orchid breeders: Zygopetalum Skippy Ku is the only hybrid registered with Z. graminifolium as a parent.

And here is a closeup of the contributing species.

Parent species of Tsubotaara Melinda Maria

Photo credits:

Pabstia jugosa: Orchi (Wikimedia commons)

Aganisia cyanea: Orchi (Wikimedia commons)

Zygopetalum graminifolium: Jean Linden orchid print

Zygopetalum intermedium: Manuel (Flickr)

Aganisia cyanea shares the greatest resemblance to Tsubotaara Melinda Marie, which makes sense because it was crossed twice into this hybrid.  However, I can see how features from both Zygopetalum and Pabstia genera are represented in the final hybrid. Tsubotaara Melinda Marie is a great example of how orchid breeding may be used to borrow traits from very different orchid genera to produce a truly distinct new flower.

A display of dendrobiums

Dendrobium hodgkinsonii

In my final installment featuring orchid photos from the US Botanic Garden in DC, I am exploring the variety of dendrobium species and hybrids that were on display during my visits.  These orchids are some of my favorite genera, though I'll admit that I've had very limited luck growing them myself.  

Dendrobium hodgkinsonii closeup

Dendrobium catenatum

Dendrobium catenatum

Dendrobium ceraula older bloom

Dendrobium ceraula new blossom

This Dendrobium ceraula was one of the bluer orchids I've ever seen in the Dendrobium genus.  The newest blossoms come out with a lovely cerulean hue, which fades to pink as the blossoms age.

Dendrobium Genting Royal

dendrobium haleahi butterfly x00006 x dendrobium jaqueline thomas 

dendrobium haleahi butterfly x00006 x dendrobium jaqueline thomas 

Dendrobium Jaqueline Thomas Uniwai Prince

Dendrobium pseudolamellatum

 Dendrobium pseudolamellatum is a tiny flower.  The species is an epiphyte native to Borneo.

Dendrobium pseudolamellatum whole plant view

Dendrobium spectabile closeup

Dendrobium spectabile is one of my favorite orchid species.  I love its giant twisted flowers, that look like something out of an alien movie, and defy my attempts to capture them in focus in my photographs.  This orchid truly has to be seen in person to make sense.

Dendrobium spectabile whole plant view

A classic blue orchid: Vanda Pachara Delight

Vanda Pachara Delight

Blue is a rare shade among cultivated orchids.  A few wild orchid species achieve that rare hue, but the only true blue cultivated orchid was created by genetic engineering in a Japanese lab in 2013. The gorgeous Phal has since been shown at a number of orchid shows, but don't expect to find one for sale at your favorite nursery any time soon.

In the meantime, Vandas dominate the field of the almost-blue orchid.  Vanda Pachara Delight is one such popular hybrid.  The orchid's flowers are a deep due of purple-blue, although the shade is difficult to photograph accurately.  Registered almost 2 decades ago in 1999, this hybrid is still often found blooming in stores and greenhouses.  Pachara Delight has since been used to make two more hybrids: Vanda Jan Marie Ryan, and Vandachostylis Mak Ho Seng.

Vanda Pachara Delight

Vanda Pachara Delight is a cross between Vanda Gordon Dillon, and Vanda Karulea. The whole genealogy is depicted below. (Full size image)

Genealogy of Vanda Pachara Delight

What stands out the most in this breeding scheme is how prominently Vanda sanderiana features in the genealogy.  There are 22 crossings in this image, and Vanda sanderiana is involved in 50% of them. Vanda coerulea, the second most important contributor to the breeding, accounts for 20% of the crosses. In fact, the primary hybrid of V. sanderiana and V. coerulea (Vanda Rothschildiana) already looks very similar to Vanda Pachara Delight.  

Vanda Rothschildiana (1931)

Photo Credit: Guillaume Paumier (link to original image on Wikimedia commons)

Three other species (V. dearei, V. luzonica, and V. tricolor) contributes to the mix. 

Species progenitors of Vanda Pachara Delight

Photo credits:

Vanda sanderiana (original image, by Dalton Holland Baptista, Wikimedia commons)

Vanda coerulea (original image, by  Association Auboise d'Orchidophilie Exotique)

Vanda dearei (original image, by Rachmat Setlawan Saleh (Flickr gallery))

Vanda luzonica (original image,  by Akatsuka Orchid Gardens (orchid vendor site)

Vanda tricolor (original image, by Association Auboise d'Orchidophilie Exotique)