peloric orchid

[anakalias]

Hello, I have a question about one of my orchids which I suspect is peloric. When I bought it, it had 2 flower spikes - one blooming, one with only buds. Over time the buds on the second spike opened, but not fully. I guess I just thought it was traumatized by the change in environment or something. Its appears to be very healthy otherwise. This winter it sent up only one spike and all blooms are peloric (if that's really what's going on...). I have 9 orchids total, and if this one is peloric, I can deal with that and love it just the same. My only question is that the first flower spike appeared totally normal - is this typical? Does any of this indicate something I could be improving on? Thanks for your help in advance!

[tangers40]

i agree that your orchid is peloric, at least a little bit. not fully peloric, but it does at least fall on the "abnormal" spectrum. in fact, i have one that looks very very similar to yours (mine is slightly more peloric, but the color and shape are almost identical). mine has always bloomed peloric, but since yours is slightly less affected by the abnormal genes, it may express the peloria sometimes and not others. i absolutely don't think you're doing anything wrong with it....in fact, if you have gotten it to rebloom, i'd say you're doing just fine!

the take-home message here is that orchids will do what they want, when they want. yours apparently feels like being peloric sometimes and not others.

[JLu]

Well I guess I have to say that being a little bit peloric is like being a little bit pregnant. If visual evidence of some form or color of the lip is abnormally transferred to the petals then it's peloric. If not, it's not peloric. There are no degrees of peloric.

Pelorism can be a permanent genetic feature of the flower as in some forms of Phalaenopsis (syn Doritis) pulcherrima or a cultural, one-time event resulting presumably from some stress. The second type can result in a plant having a peloric inflorescence and a normal inflorescence at the same time. While I can't prove it, anecdotal evidence suggests it could be from exposure to cold at a critical time of bud growth. I think yours might be this second, temporary type.

[Ray]

I agree. Pelorism (or peloria) is defined as there being symmetry when none is expected - in orchids that's petals that look like a lip as JLu described, or a lip that looks like the petals.

Folks often try to apply the term to flowers that are merely deformed.

[anakalias]

Thank you for the replies... the two petals on the side do have little "nubs" on them that I do not see on my other orchids. I did take pictures of this and uploaded them. This is my first post so I can't add the pictures to this thread yet but I can see them when I click on the 4 by stats for pictures, maybe you can too?

Thanks again, I love all the great info I'm finding here!

[FLBob]

The photos I see are not of a peloric flower. There is something not right about the flower, in that they don't appear to be opening fully. This is most likely an environmental problem. My first guess would be hydration but I'd need to see the plant to confirm my opinion.

[Stitz]

peloric is defined by the AOS.

"An abnormal formation of a flower where some part of the perianth is doubled or simulates another part."

--Stitz--

[JLu]

It would seem preferable if they had used a term other than perianth because that can mean the calyx (all sepals) or the corolla (all petals). In some cases it is used to mean all tepals. There may be a peloric orchid that involves the sepals, but I am unaware of one. It looks like corolla would have been the best term to use in the definition if one is too sophisticated to just say petals and be done with it.

I don't see any photos, Bob. Where are they?

[FLBob]

Originally Posted by JLu

It would seem preferable if they had used a term other than perianth because that can mean the calyx (all sepals) or the corolla (all petals). In some cases it is used to mean all tepals. There may be a peloric orchid that involves the sepals, but I am unaware of one. It looks like corolla would have been the best term to use in the definition if one is too sophisticated to just say petals and be done with it.

I don't see any photos, Bob. Where are they?

Click on the username and choose the last item on the drop down menu "View Gallery Uploads" The 4 photos are there.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by JLu

It would seem preferable if they had used a term other than perianth because that can mean the calyx (all sepals) or the corolla (all petals). In some cases it is used to mean all tepals. There may be a peloric orchid that involves the sepals, but I am unaware of one.

JLu,
Search Google Images for Cymbidium Darch Freak. These are referred to as sepal pelorics. The term does defy the conventional definition of peloria but then again peloric orchids aren't truly peloric either so why argue semantics. I don't know if sepal peloria occurs in other genera.

[lmartiny]

I don't see photo you are loooking at. ?? I bought a noid peloiric Phal about two years ago. (just because it was peloric) It is reblooming now and has just opened and I checked to see. It is peloric and this will be the third bloom.