The answer is probably obvious, at least in the case of this flower freak: NO. A friend (who is
not a flower freak) and I attended the annual orchid show and sale at
South Coast Botanic Garden last weekend. We arrived early, before the show area was open, so we had lots of time to check out the sale area.
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| I didn't attempt to identify these but, moving clockwise from the top left, I think the first 5 were all intergeneric hybrids involving Cattleyas. The next photo was one of many Phalaenopsis displays. I didn't look for the parentage of the next 2 plants and I won't venture a guess. The plants in the middle are a dark-foliage variety of the zz plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia 'Raven'), which were surprisingly expensive. |
When judging was complete and the show area finally opened, I photographed only the specimens that grabbed my interest due to their color, shape or both. The orchid family (
Orchidaceae) is the world's second largest family of flowering plants (after the sunflower family,
Asteraceae) and the number of genera, species, and intergeneric hybrids is eye-boggling. Identifying an individual specimen is frustrating at best, especially as most are identified only by an abbreviation signifying their natural or hybrid generic names. (If you like making yourself crazy, check out the Royal Horticultural Society's 2017 list of accepted abbreviations
here).
Here are my favorites from the show:
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| Aerangia 'Splendida', which had flowers like soaring birds |
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| Brassolaeliocattleya Toshie Aoki 'Pizzazz' |
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| Simply labeled Cattleya bicolor |
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| Cattleya 'Red Jewel' |
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| Cattleya 'Spotted Gem' x 'Spotted Leopard' |
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| Simply labeled "Chocolate Chip Cross" |
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| This was my favorite. It's Dendrobium 'Joyce Kelly'. |
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| Epicattleya (no cultivar name) |
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| Gongara galeata |
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| The clips distract but the flower is interesting. This is Habenaria medusa. A better photo can be found here. |
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| Labeled Oncidium harryanum, I gather it's correctly classified as Ondontogolossum harryanum |
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| Paphiopedilum haynaldianum |
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| Paphiopedilum 'Mount Toro' |
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| Rhyncholaeliocattleya Chief Canyon 'Morning Call' |
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| Rossioglossum grande |
Did I leave the show without purchasing anything? You already know the answer to that question, don't you?
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| My purchases were: Brassolaeliocattleya 'Lawless Romeo Cluster' (apparently a hybrid of Blc. 'Toshie Aoki' and Blc. 'American Heritage') and Phalaenopsis sogo vivieno 'Golden Leaves' |
Have a good weekend.
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
