Please identify my orchid

[iceicebaby]

Hi I bought this orchid few days back and now it has bloomed.
Please identify it for me.

Thank you,

Dev

[lmartiny]

Very nice bloom. I can't help you. I'm too new. Some one will pipe in with some advice.

[LouisW]

Leliocattleya possibly? Just an idea going by the shape, but im really not sure.

[patticake]

It's possibly in the Brassocattleya family, but it's impossible to ID it for sure. It's a beauty, however!

[kmarch]

It's certainly inthe Cattleya Alliance. It looks like it is a Cattleya dowiana hybrid of some sort. The dowiana lip is quite distinctive among cattleyas, is quite dominant in breeding, and also dowiana is one of the few cattleyas that impart yellow colouration. It could be Bc. Saint André which is Cattleya dowiana x Brassavola nodosa, but that is an educated guess at best.

[snowballsarebad]

It reminded me of a Blc Keowee, but the shape seems off. Again, a guess.

[FLBob]

It looks very close to my BC Binosa 'Wabash Valley', but the darker portion of the lip is different. Binosa is a Nadosa x with C. bicolor.

[jerrymeola]

Another possibility is Blc Apache Sunrise. Brassolaeliocattleya Apache Sunrise (Brassolaeliocattleya Apache Gold x Brassavola nodosa)

This hybrid was very popular about 4 years ago and everyone in Asia had them. Your plant looks to be about the right age to be in that group. This shows the dificulty of Ids from photos. My ID is mostly based on what was being commercially grown in large quantites about that time. And I certainly do not see everyones availablility so in India you could have gotten them from somewhere else.

It is a cross of Blc Apache Gold and nodosa.
Apache Gold has 104 ancestors and 11 generations. Many are dowiana and digbyana strains.

I have Binosa and it is distinctively different. It also is seldom over 4 inches.

Keowee is very similar and could be the plant, but often shows some red coloration in the petals and septals, even thin light striping. Brassolaeliocattleya Keowee (Laeliocattleya Lorraine Shirai x Brassavola nodosa). Keowee has much of the same genetic tree, nodosa, dowiana, tenebrosa, bicolor so they are close cousins at least.

Both Apache and Keowee are large 5 inch flowers

[Celcat]

I understand why they were popular 4 years ago. The flowers are beautiful indeed. Pity they did not reach the british market.

[kmarch]

I forgot all about Blc Keowee. I remember those were popular when I was judging in Michigan. And Jerry's possibilities are good too and perhaps more important as Jerry pointed out, Keowee and Apache Sunrise are more common than Bc. Saint André.

But this illustrates perfectly the point that is often made here on the forum, that many different hybrids look similar. Here we have 3 hybrids, Bc. Saint André, Blc Keowee, and Marriottara Apache Sunrise all of which look very similar. It would take a DNA analysis of some sort to verify which one it actually is.

On a seperate note, the correct genus for Apache Sunrise is Marriottara and the correct genus for Apache Gold is Rhynchosophrocattleya.

[iceicebaby]

WOw thanks a lot. I am a Periodontist and I bought this orchid a few days back.Guess I have got a nice plant.I salute ur knowledge orchids, I am awestruck.

[kmarch]

Orchid knowledge isn't any good unless its shared so we're happy to help out! Some poeple are successful in tracking down the names of their tagless orchids by going ot the seller who can often refer them back ot the flasker or breeder if they do not know what the cross is.

Good luck and enjoy your orchids!!

[Anton]

Well iceicebaby you have now really got an orchid you can wrap your gums around.

[iceicebaby]

mmm well said anton.I have my eyes on a few more orchids like a greedy child.