Oncidium alexandrae
Curled Oncidium
Family OrchidaceaeAlso called curled odontoglossum
About
Oncidium alexandrae, long known as Odontoglossum crispum, is an epiphytic orchid of the Colombian Andes. Often called the most beautiful of all orchids, it is also one of the hardest to grow.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Not recorded. We have no source on whether this plant is safe for cats, dogs or other pets — that is not the same as safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked.
- People
- Not recorded.
- Light
- Medium to heavy shade.
- Water
- Keep well watered.
- Humidity
- High humidity.
- Temperature
- Cool conditions; high daytime temperatures weaken and kill it, so outside cool marine climates it needs air conditioning.
- Mature size
- Flower spikes up to about 51 cm long.
Field notes
Morphology
Ovoid pseudobulbs 8–10 cm long each bear two soft, strap- to lance-shaped leaves folded at the base into a stalk. An arching spike up to 51 cm long rises from the base of a newly matured pseudobulb, with closely spaced flowers on its upper part and often two or three side branches.
Distribution & habitat
Montane forest in Colombia at 1,800–3,000 m, in the Eastern Cordillera (Cundinamarca, Boyacá) and the southern Andes (Cauca, Putumayo, Nariño). It grows in clearings and at forest edges, mainly on the trunks and main branches of oaks, in partial shade or sometimes full sun.
Cultivation notes
Needs cool, humid, well-watered conditions with medium to heavy shade. It thrives in cool marine climates such as the California fog belt and the Pacific Northwest; elsewhere daytime heat weakens and kills it unless air conditioning is used. Widely used in hybridising to improve flower size and shape.
History & etymology
John Lindley described it in 1845 as Odontoglossum crispum, and James Bateman independently named it Odontoglossum alexandrae after Alexandra of Denmark, then Princess of Wales. The two names are synonyms; the species was moved to Oncidium in 2008.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- Colombia
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- difficult
- Temperature
- Cool conditions; high daytime temperatures weaken and kill it, so outside cool marine climates it needs air conditioning.
- Humidity
- High humidity.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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