Coelogyne massangeana

[dave b]

New (non blooming) acquisition from Cincy Orchid Show

Im not supposed to be buying big stuff anymore, but i couldnt pass this up. Its huge, really cool, and it was cheap. Its on a 5 gallon bucket for size reference.

 

[NYEric]

Nice acquisition.

 

[kmarch]

Dear dave,

Good buy, i love this species, and fairly easy to bloom, even in a windowsill, although the pendant inflorescences must be accomodated. Dudley Clayton, in his recent book on Coelogyne has discovered the proper name for this species is Coel. tomentosa, and has reduced the name massangeana to synonomy (just in case you're interested in such things).

When it blooms for you, please post a pic for us. With a plant that big, you're likely to get 3-5+ inflorescences. It'll be nice!

-Kevin

 

[paphjoint]

Are you sure of this ? Although they are quite similar - there are differences - If you see them both you'll know

Dear dave,

Good buy, i love this species, and fairly easy to bloom, even in a windowsill, although the pendant inflorescences must be accomodated. Dudley Clayton, in his recent book on Coelogyne has discovered the proper name for this species is Coel. tomentosa, and has reduced the name massangeana to synonomy (just in case you're interested in such things).

When it blooms for you, please post a pic for us. With a plant that big, you're likely to get 3-5+ inflorescences. It'll be nice!

-Kevin

 

[dave b]

Dear dave,

Good buy, i love this species, and fairly easy to bloom, even in a windowsill, although the pendant inflorescences must be accomodated. Dudley Clayton, in his recent book on Coelogyne has discovered the proper name for this species is Coel. tomentosa, and has reduced the name massangeana to synonomy (just in case you're interested in such things).

When it blooms for you, please post a pic for us. With a plant that big, you're likely to get 3-5+ inflorescences. It'll be nice!

-Kevin

Thanks, ill post pics when it blooms. I have a C. speciosa with 2 new growths and will soon post pics of those too.

 

[kmarch]

Hi Paphjoint,

Coelogyne taxonomy relies heavily on lip structure, especially keel structure, and to a lesser degree, other morphological characteristics (inflorescence/blooming habit for example). Dudley Clayton, after examining , researching, and comparing descriptions and specimens has determined them to be synonomous (and given the name tomentosa is older, it is given priority). So, while I am not a taxonomist and therefore depend heavily on their research and expertise, I 1) tend to defer to their opinions, and 2) am weary in general of just going by how a flower looks as there can be a great deal of variety within one species (Coel fimbriata, Coel speciosa, Laelia pandurata, just to name a few).

The plant/flower I have matches Clayton's description of Coel tomentosa. Do you have plants labled tomentosa and massangeana? If so it would be interesting and helpful to dig into the descriptions, especially the lip/keel structures to see what you've got. In my opinion, photos and tags aren't the most reliable means of identification. I frequently get mistagged Coelogynes.

Respectfully,

-K

 

[paphjoint]

I have both species - I will post pictures when they flower

 

[kmarch]

Hi Paphjoint,

I'd be of the opinion that photos and tags alone (especially the latter) are not completely helpful when identifying a species. Perhaps I could ask you to make the sacrifice and disect one flower from each so we can get a very clear picture of the individual flower structures, especially those of the lip? I did this with my 2 Coel speciosa just a month or so ago and found one did fit the description like a glove, while the other didn't at all (eventhough both were labled speciosa). So now i get to do a little more research and see if I can identify the mistagged one.

-K