Odontoglossum crispum
Encyclopedia
Odontoglossum crispum (Curled Odontoglossum) is an epiphytic orchid from the genus Odontoglossum
. It is considered by many to be the most beautiful orchid of all but is also one of the most difficult to grow.
, between 3 and 4 inches long, from the apex of which emerge two soft-textured, erect to arching, linear to strap shaped or lanceolate leaves. The leaves are sharply pointed at the tip and narrowed below where they are longitudinally folded along the mid-vein at the base to form a long, narrow, petiole
-like stem.
The gracefully arching flower spike, which can be up to 20 inches long, emerges from the base of a recently matured pseudobulb along the centre-line of the upper basal sheath. Flowers are closely spaced in a raceme
on the upper part of the flower spike, but there are often two or three lateral branches at the base of the raceme. Each flower is carried on a pedicellate
ovary that is up to 0.9 in long.
There are between 6 and 24 flowers on each inflorescence
. The blossoms are the most variable in the Odontoglossum
genus in terms of size, colour and degree of crimpling along the segment margins. The flowers are mostly white or pale rose, sometimes more or less spotted and blotched with brownish or reddish brown. The callus
at the base of the lip is yellow and is often marked with red lines. The widely spread, flat-opening flowers are 3 to 4 inches across with very wide sepals that are elliptic, have sharply pointed tips, often overlap and are variously crisped or wavy-margined or toothed and notched along the margins. The dorsal
sepal
is lanceolate to egg-shaped, undulate on the margin and 1.2 to 2.0 inches long by 0.5 to 0.9 inches wide. The obliquely spreading lateral sepals are similar in size to the dorsal sepal. The horizontally spreading petals are egg-shaped to elliptic or oblong elliptic, 1.2 to 1.8 inches long by 0.7 to 1.5 inches wide, and have margins that are wavy and fairly deeply notched or toothed. The lip is oblong or somewhat fiddle-shaped. It is 0.8 to 1.2 inches long by 0.5 to 0.6 inches wide, has toothed margins and is rather sharply pointed at the apex. The callus is fleshy with a pair of diverging lobes at the apex. The slender, slightly arching column is 0.6 to 0.7 inches long and has a pair of broad wings with fringed margins toward the apex.
forest of Colombia
, at altitudes of between 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) and 10000 feet (3,048 m), including in the eastern Cordillera in the departments of Cundinamarca
and Boyacá
and in the Andes
of southern Colombia in the departments of Cauca
, Putumayato
and Nariño
.
The plants grow as epiphytes in clearings and along forest edges. They grow chiefly on the trunks and main branches of oak
trees in partial shade and occasionally full sun.
Throughout the year, days average 66–70°F and nights average 50–53°F, with a diurnal
range of 14–19°F. Rainfall is light to moderate throughout the year, but there is no actual dry season. In addition, more moisture is available from heavy dew and mist. Humidity is 70–75% throughout the year.
O. crispum comes in an array of shapes, colours, and shades, from pure white to flush pink. The variability of the flower is associated with discrete areas; in the Pacho
area (30 miles north of Bogota
) are found the finest varieties, full round pure white and spotted flowers with broad overlapping sepals and petals; in the Vélez
area (further north) the flowers are similar but shaded rose; south of Bogota
, in the Fusagasugá
region (25 miles south of Bogota), the white mauve tinted stellate
flowers; while in Nariño, the O. crispum var. Lehmannii is found which bears up to 80 small flowers on a branched inflorescence.
Rather shaded conditions are required, in low to moderate light, which should be filtered or diffused; plants should never be exposed to direct midday sun. Strong air movement should be provided at all times.
Plants should be potted in a well drain medium such as medium fir bark. Plants should be watered often while actively growing, but drainage should be excellent, and conditions around the roots should become rather dry between the watering. Water should be reduced in late autumn after new growth has matured; water should be reduced further in winter, particular for plants grown in dark, short-day conditions common in temperate latitudes. Plants should not, however, be allowed to dry out completely. Fertilizer should be reduced or eliminated until heavier watering is resumed in spring.
Ideally, the plants grow best in a cool marine climate, such as the California
fog belt or the Pacific Northwest
. Elsewhere, high daytime temperatures will enfeeble and destroy it, unless air-conditioning is available.
, in the high Andes
Mountains, near Pacho
in the department
of Cundinamarca
, Colombia
, during one of his plant collecting
expeditions for the Royal Horticultural Society
. It was named "Crispum" by John Lindley
, a reference to the crisped edges of the flower.
None of the plants shipped from the 1841 expedition survived the trip back to England, and it was not until 1863 that the plant first flowered in England, once growers had been able to re-create the cool natural habitat of these "alpine" plants. English growers had initially believed that the Colombian tropics were hot and steaming jungles and tried to grow the plant in the hot-houses favoured by Victorian
horticulturists. It was not until growers found how to lower the temperature of their glasshouses, by running water on the outside of the glass panels and having water dripping in front of the open sides to cool down the air, that the plant was able to survive and flower in England.
As Orchid mania reached its height, several London orchid houses, including Rollisson of Tooting
, Veitch of Chelsea
, and Low of Clapton
, sent out plant collectors to bring back samples of O. crispum. Amongst the Veitch collectors were David Bowman
, who successfully located O. crispum "Alexandrae" in Colombia in 1867, Henry Chesterton
who discovered the variety O. crispum "Chestertonii" (named after him) in the late 1870s, Guillermo Kalbreyer
, who in June 1881 "sent home a collection of Orchids, consisting principally of O. crispum", and David Burke
, who collected in Colombia from 1894 to 1896.
In his book, "About Orchids – A Chat" published in 1895, Frederick Boyle describes the "harvesting" of O. crispum from Colombia. The collector would make Bogotá
his headquarters from where he would need to travel "about ten days to the southward" by mule. On reaching his destination, he would "hire a wood; that is, a track of mountain clothed more or less with timber" from a tribal chief. He would then hire "natives, twenty or fifty or a hundred, as circumstances advise" and set them to cut down all the trees. In the meantime, the collector would build "a wooden stage of sufficient length to bear the plunder expected" where he would clean, sort and dry the orchids. Each tree would produce between three and five usable specimens. He goes on to explain:
O. crispum appears frequently in the illustrations of John Day
in his scrapbooks – 40 times between 1865 and 1887. The species was highly sought after in Victorian
times, both for the diversity of its flower colour and as a cool-growing species that could be successfully cultivated. By 1889, varieties were sold for more than 150 guineas
at auction
.
described 108 varieties of O. crispum and 27 natural hybrids having crispum as a possible parent. The natural hybrids include:
O. crispum has been regularly used in hybridization as it promotes flowers of good size and shape.
Bateman
named the orchid O. alexandrae after the then Princess of Wales
, Alexandra of Denmark
, generating confusion which lasted for several years.
Odontoglossum
Odontoglossum, first named in 1816 by Karl Sigismund Kunth, is a genus of about 100 orchids. The scientific name is derived from the Greek words odon and glossa , referring to the two tooth-like calluses on the base of the lip...
. It is considered by many to be the most beautiful orchid of all but is also one of the most difficult to grow.
Description
O. crispum has an ovoid pseudobulbPseudobulb
The pseudobulb is a storage organ derived from the part of a stem between two leaf nodes.It applies to the orchid family , specifically certain groups of epiphytic orchids, and may be single or composed of several internodes with evergreen or deciduous leaves along its length.In some species, it is...
, between 3 and 4 inches long, from the apex of which emerge two soft-textured, erect to arching, linear to strap shaped or lanceolate leaves. The leaves are sharply pointed at the tip and narrowed below where they are longitudinally folded along the mid-vein at the base to form a long, narrow, petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
-like stem.
The gracefully arching flower spike, which can be up to 20 inches long, emerges from the base of a recently matured pseudobulb along the centre-line of the upper basal sheath. Flowers are closely spaced in a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
on the upper part of the flower spike, but there are often two or three lateral branches at the base of the raceme. Each flower is carried on a pedicellate
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
ovary that is up to 0.9 in long.
There are between 6 and 24 flowers on each inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
. The blossoms are the most variable in the Odontoglossum
Odontoglossum
Odontoglossum, first named in 1816 by Karl Sigismund Kunth, is a genus of about 100 orchids. The scientific name is derived from the Greek words odon and glossa , referring to the two tooth-like calluses on the base of the lip...
genus in terms of size, colour and degree of crimpling along the segment margins. The flowers are mostly white or pale rose, sometimes more or less spotted and blotched with brownish or reddish brown. The callus
Callus
A callus is an especially toughened area of skin which has become relatively thick and hard in response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Rubbing that is too frequent or forceful will cause blisters rather than allow calluses to form. Since repeated contact is required, calluses...
at the base of the lip is yellow and is often marked with red lines. The widely spread, flat-opening flowers are 3 to 4 inches across with very wide sepals that are elliptic, have sharply pointed tips, often overlap and are variously crisped or wavy-margined or toothed and notched along the margins. The dorsal
Dorsum (biology)
In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
is lanceolate to egg-shaped, undulate on the margin and 1.2 to 2.0 inches long by 0.5 to 0.9 inches wide. The obliquely spreading lateral sepals are similar in size to the dorsal sepal. The horizontally spreading petals are egg-shaped to elliptic or oblong elliptic, 1.2 to 1.8 inches long by 0.7 to 1.5 inches wide, and have margins that are wavy and fairly deeply notched or toothed. The lip is oblong or somewhat fiddle-shaped. It is 0.8 to 1.2 inches long by 0.5 to 0.6 inches wide, has toothed margins and is rather sharply pointed at the apex. The callus is fleshy with a pair of diverging lobes at the apex. The slender, slightly arching column is 0.6 to 0.7 inches long and has a pair of broad wings with fringed margins toward the apex.
Distribution and natural habitat
O. crispum is found in the montaneMontane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
forest of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, at altitudes of between 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) and 10000 feet (3,048 m), including in the eastern Cordillera in the departments of Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
and Boyacá
Boyacá Department
Boyacá is one of the 32 Departments of Colombia, and the remnant of one of the original nine states of the "United States of Colombia".Boyacá is centrally located within Colombia, almost entirely within the mountains of the Eastern Cordillera to the border with Venezuela, although the western end...
and in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
of southern Colombia in the departments of Cauca
Cauca Department
Cauca is a Department of Colombia. Located in the south-western part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east and the Nariño Department to the south, covering a total area of...
, Putumayato
Putumayo Department
Putumayo is a department of Colombia. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Ecuador and Peru. Its capital is Mocoa.The word putumayo comes from the Quechua language. The verb putuy means "to spring forth" or "to burst out", and mayo is a variant of mayu, meaning river...
and Nariño
Nariño Department
Nariño is a department of Colombia named after Antonio Nariño. It is in the west of the country, bordering Ecuador and the Pacific Ocean.Its capital is Pasto, other important cities include Tumaco, Ipiales.-Municipalities:# Albán# Aldana# Ancuya...
.
The plants grow as epiphytes in clearings and along forest edges. They grow chiefly on the trunks and main branches of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees in partial shade and occasionally full sun.
Throughout the year, days average 66–70°F and nights average 50–53°F, with a diurnal
Diurnal temperature variation
Diurnal temperature variation is a meteorological term that relates to the variation in temperature that occurs from the highs of the day to the cool of nights.-Temperature lag:Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation...
range of 14–19°F. Rainfall is light to moderate throughout the year, but there is no actual dry season. In addition, more moisture is available from heavy dew and mist. Humidity is 70–75% throughout the year.
O. crispum comes in an array of shapes, colours, and shades, from pure white to flush pink. The variability of the flower is associated with discrete areas; in the Pacho
Pacho
Pacho is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca.-External links:...
area (30 miles north of Bogota
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
) are found the finest varieties, full round pure white and spotted flowers with broad overlapping sepals and petals; in the Vélez
Vélez, Santander
Vélez is a town and municipality of the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia....
area (further north) the flowers are similar but shaded rose; south of Bogota
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, in the Fusagasugá
Fusagasugá
Fusagasugá is a town and municipality in the department of Cundinamarca, in central Colombia. It is located some forty miles from the capital, Bogotá. With 122,000 inhabitants, Fusagasugá is one of the largest municipalities in the department. It was founded in 1562 by Spanish priests.It borders...
region (25 miles south of Bogota), the white mauve tinted stellate
Stellate
Stellate, meaning star-shaped, may refer to:* Stellate cell* Stellate ganglion* Stellate reticulum* Stellate veins* Stellate trichomes on plants* Stellate laceration or incisionWound#Open...
flowers; while in Nariño, the O. crispum var. Lehmannii is found which bears up to 80 small flowers on a branched inflorescence.
Cultivation
O. crispum requires cool, well watered, humid conditions, with medium to heavy shade to thrive and after growth has slowed in the autumn it needs a slight lessening of water and fertilizer.Rather shaded conditions are required, in low to moderate light, which should be filtered or diffused; plants should never be exposed to direct midday sun. Strong air movement should be provided at all times.
Plants should be potted in a well drain medium such as medium fir bark. Plants should be watered often while actively growing, but drainage should be excellent, and conditions around the roots should become rather dry between the watering. Water should be reduced in late autumn after new growth has matured; water should be reduced further in winter, particular for plants grown in dark, short-day conditions common in temperate latitudes. Plants should not, however, be allowed to dry out completely. Fertilizer should be reduced or eliminated until heavier watering is resumed in spring.
Ideally, the plants grow best in a cool marine climate, such as the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
fog belt or the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. Elsewhere, high daytime temperatures will enfeeble and destroy it, unless air-conditioning is available.
Discovery and introduction to Europe
O. crispum was discovered in 1841 by Karl Theodor HartwegKarl Theodor Hartweg
Karl Theodor Hartweg was a German botanist. He collected numerous new species of plants in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and California in the United States, collecting for the London Horticultural Society...
, in the high Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
Mountains, near Pacho
Pacho
Pacho is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca.-External links:...
in the department
Departments of Colombia
Colombia is an unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments and a Capital District . Each department has a Governor and a Department Assembly , elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods...
of Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, during one of his plant collecting
Plant collecting
Plant collecting involves procuring live or dried plant specimens, for the purposes of research, cultivation or as a hobby.-Collection of live specimens:...
expeditions for the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
. It was named "Crispum" by John Lindley
John Lindley
John Lindley FRS was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.-Early years:Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley was a nurseryman and pomologist and ran a commercial nursery garden...
, a reference to the crisped edges of the flower.
None of the plants shipped from the 1841 expedition survived the trip back to England, and it was not until 1863 that the plant first flowered in England, once growers had been able to re-create the cool natural habitat of these "alpine" plants. English growers had initially believed that the Colombian tropics were hot and steaming jungles and tried to grow the plant in the hot-houses favoured by Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
horticulturists. It was not until growers found how to lower the temperature of their glasshouses, by running water on the outside of the glass panels and having water dripping in front of the open sides to cool down the air, that the plant was able to survive and flower in England.
As Orchid mania reached its height, several London orchid houses, including Rollisson of Tooting
Tooting
Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, Veitch of Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
, and Low of Clapton
Upper Clapton
Upper Clapton is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bounded by the Hackney districts of Stamford Hill to the west, Lower Clapton and Lea Bridge to the south and the Haringey district of South Tottenham to the north...
, sent out plant collectors to bring back samples of O. crispum. Amongst the Veitch collectors were David Bowman
David Bowman (botanist)
David Bowman was a Scottish plant collector who, in 1866, was sent by James Veitch & Sons to collect in Brazil. The species Dieffenbachia bowmanii is named after him.-Career:...
, who successfully located O. crispum "Alexandrae" in Colombia in 1867, Henry Chesterton
Henry Chesterton
Joseph Henry Chesterton was a plant collector who was sent by James Veitch & Sons to search for orchids in South America with much success.-James Veitch & Sons:...
who discovered the variety O. crispum "Chestertonii" (named after him) in the late 1870s, Guillermo Kalbreyer
Guillermo Kalbreyer
Wilhelm Kalbreyer was a German plant collector who was sent by James Veitch & Sons of Chelsea, London to collect new plants in West Africa and South America....
, who in June 1881 "sent home a collection of Orchids, consisting principally of O. crispum", and David Burke
David Burke (botanist)
David Burke was one of the most widely travelled plant collectors, who was sent by James Veitch & Sons to collect plants in British Guiana, Burma and Colombia. In his later life, Burke became rather eccentric, preferring the privations of life away from his native England.-Plant hunter:Burke was...
, who collected in Colombia from 1894 to 1896.
In his book, "About Orchids – A Chat" published in 1895, Frederick Boyle describes the "harvesting" of O. crispum from Colombia. The collector would make Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
his headquarters from where he would need to travel "about ten days to the southward" by mule. On reaching his destination, he would "hire a wood; that is, a track of mountain clothed more or less with timber" from a tribal chief. He would then hire "natives, twenty or fifty or a hundred, as circumstances advise" and set them to cut down all the trees. In the meantime, the collector would build "a wooden stage of sufficient length to bear the plunder expected" where he would clean, sort and dry the orchids. Each tree would produce between three and five usable specimens. He goes on to explain:
"It is a terribly wasteful process. If we estimate that a good tree has been felled for every three scraps of Odontoglossum which are now established in Europe, that will be no exaggeration. And for many years past they have been arriving by hundreds of thousands annually! But there is no alternative. A European cannot explore that green wilderness overhead; if he could, his accumulations would be so slow and costly as to raise the proceeds to an impossible figure. The natives will not climb, and they would tear the plants to bits. Timber has no value in those parts as yet, but the day approaches when Government must interfere."
O. crispum appears frequently in the illustrations of John Day
John Day (botanist)
John Day was an English orchid-grower and collector, and is noted for producing some 4000 illustrations of orchid species in 53 scrapbooks over a period of 15 years. These scrapbooks were donated to The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1902 by his sister, Emma Wolstenholme.Day was born in the City of...
in his scrapbooks – 40 times between 1865 and 1887. The species was highly sought after in Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
times, both for the diversity of its flower colour and as a cool-growing species that could be successfully cultivated. By 1889, varieties were sold for more than 150 guineas
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
at auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
.
Varieties and hybrids
O. crispum shows many variations ranging from pure white to yellow to rose, including various highly spotted flowers. In the 1901 edition of his Orchid Guide, SanderHenry Frederick Conrad Sander
Henry Frederick Conrad Sander was a German-born orchidologist and nurseryman who settled in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England and is noted for his monthly publication on orchids, Reichenbachia, named in honour of Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach of Hamburg, the great orchidologist.In 1867 Sander...
described 108 varieties of O. crispum and 27 natural hybrids having crispum as a possible parent. The natural hybrids include:
- O. x andersonianum Rchb.f. – a natural hybrid between O. crispum and O. gloriosumOdontoglossum gloriosumOdontoglossum gloriosum, the Glorious Odontoglossum, is a species of orchid endemic to Colombia....
Rchb.f. - O. x coradinei Rchb.f. – a natural hybrid between O. crispum and O. lindleyanumOdontoglossum lindleyanumOdontoglossum lindleyanum, the Lindley's Odontoglossum, is a species of orchid found from northwestern Venezuela to Ecuador....
Rchb.f. - O. x wilckeanum Rchb.f. – a natural hybrid between O. crispum and O. luteopurpureumOdontoglossum luteopurpureumOdontoglossum luteopurpureum is a species of orchid endemic to Colombia....
LindleyJohn LindleyJohn Lindley FRS was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.-Early years:Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley was a nurseryman and pomologist and ran a commercial nursery garden...
. - O. x marriottianum Rchb.f. may be a natural hybrid between O. crispum and O. halliiOdontoglossum halliiOdontoglossum hallii, the Hall's Odontoglossum, is a species of orchid found from Colombia to Ecuador....
Lindley.
O. crispum has been regularly used in hybridization as it promotes flowers of good size and shape.
Synonyms
Because of its varied nature, many botanists have incorrectly identified plants as separate species, including:- O. alexandrae BatemanJames BatemanJames Bateman was a landowner and accomplished horticulturist. He developed Biddulph Grange after moving there around 1840, from nearby Knypersley Hall...
1864 - O. bluntii Rchb.f 1864
- O. edithiae Warn. 1864
- O. latimaculatum LindenJean Jules LindenJean Jules Linden , was a Belgian botanist and explorer, horticulturist and businessman, specialising in orchids, on which subject he wrote a number of books....
1888 - O. reichenbachianum Lehm. 1883
- O. sanderianum Rchb.f 1881
- O. warocqueanum LindenJean Jules LindenJean Jules Linden , was a Belgian botanist and explorer, horticulturist and businessman, specialising in orchids, on which subject he wrote a number of books....
& L.Linden 1888
Bateman
James Bateman
James Bateman was a landowner and accomplished horticulturist. He developed Biddulph Grange after moving there around 1840, from nearby Knypersley Hall...
named the orchid O. alexandrae after the then Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of The Prince of Wales since the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1283.Although there have been considerably more than ten male heirs to the throne, there have been only ten Princesses of Wales. The majority of Princes of Wales...
, Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, generating confusion which lasted for several years.