In 1964 I saw some orchids growing in a forest on Hawaii, the largest
island of the Hawaiian Islands. I was eleven years old on a family
vacation. I'm hoping to find a possible species name to include in a
true story I'm writing. The trouble is, I don't know anything about
orchids. In fact I don't even know if the beautiful flowers I saw were
indeed orchids. I assume they were.
In my copy of Bailey's 2nd Hortus I read about growing orchids. It takes
special knowledge and patience. People who grow orchids must truly
appreciate them and have the basic abilities needed to follow scientific
procedure, and that is why I'm asking here, first, for help with
identification before I do any extensive book searching. I'll wager
someone in this newsgroup will know what the orchids most likely would
have been from the information I provide.

I like plants and I know that flowering plants are classified by the
anatomy of their reproductive parts. I don't have any information about
the specific anatomy of the flowers I saw. All I have comes from my
boyhood memory: a general description of the appearance of the flowers,
the location and the environment they were growing in.

The flowers I saw were growing on the trunks and larger branches of
trees. They generally looked like epiphytes I have seen. Most flower
specimens were about four or more inches across with thick petals and
were a singular inflorescence. Very large specimens some over eight
inches across were growing near and above naturally occurring geothermal
steam vents associated with local volcanic activity.

When first observed, the most remarkable visual characteristic of the
flower itself was the beautiful color: almost fluorescent, a lavender,
reddish-violet. I found a copyrighted jpg from a link originating from
this ng with a flower (the large Broughtonia on the page) that looks
close to the color I remember:
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/v...ia/aaa.jpghtml
Please protect the rights and wishes of the owner of the image: ©2002
John E. Erickson all rights reserved

In this next image (also copyrighted, please honor ownership rights,
thank you) the color is not quite what I remember but the general shape
and appearance of the flower is close:

Large image: Cookara Tropical Snowflake
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/v...a/aad.jpg.html
©2000 John E Erickson all rights observed

Any ideas about what this "volcanic" orchid might have been?

Thank you,
C. Nick Kruzer
(Paul Massey)

Sorry about that glitch now correct:

http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/v...htonia/aaa.jpg

On Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:21:52 -0700, (C. Nick Kruzer)
wrote:

In 1964 I saw some orchids growing in a forest on Hawaii, the largest
island of the Hawaiian Islands. I was eleven years old on a family
vacation. I'm hoping to find a possible species name to include in a
true story I'm writing. The trouble is, I don't know anything about
orchids. In fact I don't even know if the beautiful flowers I saw were
indeed orchids. I assume they were.
In my copy of Bailey's 2nd Hortus I read about growing orchids. It takes
special knowledge and patience. People who grow orchids must truly
appreciate them and have the basic abilities needed to follow scientific
procedure, and that is why I'm asking here, first, for help with
identification before I do any extensive book searching. I'll wager
someone in this newsgroup will know what the orchids most likely would
have been from the information I provide.

I like plants and I know that flowering plants are classified by the
anatomy of their reproductive parts. I don't have any information about
the specific anatomy of the flowers I saw. All I have comes from my
boyhood memory: a general description of the appearance of the flowers,
the location and the environment they were growing in.

The flowers I saw were growing on the trunks and larger branches of
trees. They generally looked like epiphytes I have seen. Most flower
specimens were about four or more inches across with thick petals and
were a singular inflorescence. Very large specimens some over eight
inches across were growing near and above naturally occurring geothermal
steam vents associated with local volcanic activity.

When first observed, the most remarkable visual characteristic of the
flower itself was the beautiful color: almost fluorescent, a lavender,
reddish-violet. I found a copyrighted jpg from a link originating from
this ng with a flower (the large Broughtonia on the page) that looks
close to the color I remember:
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/v...ia/aaa.jpghtml
Please protect the rights and wishes of the owner of the image: ©2002
John E. Erickson all rights reserved

In this next image (also copyrighted, please honor ownership rights,
thank you) the color is not quite what I remember but the general shape
and appearance of the flower is close:

Large image: Cookara Tropical Snowflake
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/v...a/aad.jpg.html
©2000 John E Erickson all rights observed

Any ideas about what this "volcanic" orchid might have been?

Thank you,
C. Nick Kruzer
(Paul Massey)

Paul -
I would think it would be more apt to be one of the Den family...
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery
Dendrobium Alliance
Dendrobium (little Diamond x compactum) x (compactum x Diamond Head)
Something like this in shape. They are often quite bright pink.

I don't know what could be native to the islands. I have seen write
ups that say all orchids were imported and some that say there were a
few natives. Now many have been installed to grow as if native in the
trees where ever people live and of course the volcano has changed
that several times.

Maybe someone who has visited the big island can chime in here.

Thank you for respecting our copyrights.
Sue & John Erickson
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/main.php

It's my understanding that there are only 4 species of orchids native to the
Hawaiian Islands and all four are not very showy.

-Eric in SF
www.orchidphotos.org

"Susan Erickson" wrote in message
...
I don't know what could be native to the islands. I have seen write
ups that say all orchids were imported and some that say there were a

Agreed Eric, but that does not rule out the presence of non-natives,
especially in an environment as conducive to their growth as the "Big
Island" offers.

In other words, answering the original query, it could be (almost) anything!

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"Eric Hunt" wrote in message
...
It's my understanding that there are only 4 species of orchids native to
the Hawaiian Islands and all four are not very showy.

-Eric in SF
www.orchidphotos.org

"Susan Erickson" wrote in message
...
I don't know what could be native to the islands. I have seen write
ups that say all orchids were imported and some that say there were a

"C. Nick Kruzer" wrote in message
...
snip
In my copy of Bailey's 2nd Hortus I read about growing orchids. It takes
special knowledge and patience. People who grow orchids must truly
appreciate them and have the basic abilities needed to follow scientific
procedure, and that is why I'm asking here,
snip

C. Nick,

I can't believe noone else has challenged you on this part of your post yet.
Special knowledge? Scientific Procedure? All this sounds way more complex
than it actually is. Growing orchids has the unfortunate reputation of being
complex, but as most of us here have found, orchids are much easier to grow
than people who don't know about them think. In my opinion, orchids are in
many ways easier to grow than other houseplants. In fact I have killed most
other houseplants I have ever owned, but I find orchids much more difficult
to kill -- unless one waters them too frequently, they can survive a lot of
mild abuse or benign neglect. The "scientific procedure" for most orchids
can be summarized on one sheet of fairly simple instructions of how to care
for them. Granted, some of these instructions may be counter-intuitive to
those burdened by the knowledge of caring for other houseplants. But how
many other houseplants regularly come with easy instructions for novices?
And how many other houseplants will bloom for many months?

This is an extreme example (few orchids are that simple), but it shows how
easy orchid growing can be: I have this orchid that I bought at a local
Safeway grocery store (Phal. Baldan's Kaleidoscope). I bought it in bloom in
September 2005. It continues to be in bloom to this day (so 9 months in
bloom). I have watered it a total of 8 times in these 9 months -- it has
healthy roots and healthy leaves, just does not dry out more often. It
stands in a northern window without supplemental lights -- seems to be
enough light for this particular orchid. Since I tend to be pretty bad about
adding fertilizer to water, only when I think of it, and happen to have
time, some members of this forum would argue that I am starving it, but
several of my orchids have been with me for 5 years now, and have continued
to flourish under similar benign neglect -- two of those orchids that I have
had for 5 years already have flowered with more flowers than ever this year,
and they are now busily growing new leaves, while I am busy taking care of
my 6 months old child most of the time. How easy is that for orchid growing?

Best,
Joanna

P.S: I just double-checked how my Phal. Baldan's Kaleidoscope (that I talk
about in the previous post) is doing. It's growing a new leaf that looks
healthy. After 9 months of flowering it's not done yet, and has a new bud as
well. And I last watered it on May 22, and it's definitely not ready to be
watered again yet. I guess I can continue to pretty much ignore it, except
for an occasional glance, once every few weeks.

Joanna

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:6kUkg.1666$nS5.772@trnddc07...

"C. Nick Kruzer" wrote in message
...
snip
In my copy of Bailey's 2nd Hortus I read about growing orchids. It takes
special knowledge and patience. People who grow orchids must truly
appreciate them and have the basic abilities needed to follow scientific
procedure, and that is why I'm asking here,
snip

C. Nick,

I can't believe noone else has challenged you on this part of your post
yet. Special knowledge? Scientific Procedure? All this sounds way more
complex than it actually is. Growing orchids has the unfortunate
reputation of being complex, but as most of us here have found, orchids
are much easier to grow than people who don't know about them think. In my
opinion, orchids are in many ways easier to grow than other houseplants.
In fact I have killed most other houseplants I have ever owned, but I find
orchids much more difficult to kill -- unless one waters them too
frequently, they can survive a lot of mild abuse or benign neglect. The
"scientific procedure" for most orchids can be summarized on one sheet of
fairly simple instructions of how to care for them. Granted, some of these
instructions may be counter-intuitive to those burdened by the knowledge
of caring for other houseplants. But how many other houseplants regularly
come with easy instructions for novices? And how many other houseplants
will bloom for many months?

This is an extreme example (few orchids are that simple), but it shows how
easy orchid growing can be: I have this orchid that I bought at a local
Safeway grocery store (Phal. Baldan's Kaleidoscope). I bought it in bloom
in September 2005. It continues to be in bloom to this day (so 9 months in
bloom). I have watered it a total of 8 times in these 9 months -- it has
healthy roots and healthy leaves, just does not dry out more often. It
stands in a northern window without supplemental lights -- seems to be
enough light for this particular orchid. Since I tend to be pretty bad
about adding fertilizer to water, only when I think of it, and happen to
have time, some members of this forum would argue that I am starving it,
but several of my orchids have been with me for 5 years now, and have
continued to flourish under similar benign neglect -- two of those orchids
that I have had for 5 years already have flowered with more flowers than
ever this year, and they are now busily growing new leaves, while I am
busy taking care of my 6 months old child most of the time. How easy is
that for orchid growing?

Best,
Joanna

Hi Joanna. you wrote:

Growing orchids has the unfortunate reputation
of being complex, but as most of us here have
found, orchids are much easier to grow than
people who don't know about them think. In my
opinion, orchids are in many ways easier to
grow than other houseplants. In fact I havekilled
most other houseplants I have ever owned
, but I find orchids much more difficult to kill --

I made an error in word usage. When I wrote "growing" I actually meant
"propagating". But I'm glad you responded, I might try an orchid or two.
I live in a city as an apartment dweller, so I will have to grow
indoors. I've always wanted to try growing the vanilla orchid!

C.Nick Kruzer

C. Nick Kruzer wrote:
Hi Joanna. you wrote:


Growing orchids has the unfortunate reputation
of being complex, but as most of us here have
found, orchids are much easier to grow than
people who don't know about them think. In my
opinion, orchids are in many ways easier to
grow than other houseplants. In fact I havekilled
most other houseplants I have ever owned
, but I find orchids much more difficult to kill --


I made an error in word usage. When I wrote "growing" I actually meant
"propagating". But I'm glad you responded, I might try an orchid or two.
I live in a city as an apartment dweller, so I will have to grow
indoors. I've always wanted to try growing the vanilla orchid!

C.Nick Kruzer

Not something I would recommend for an apartment. I have one that
I bought 3 years ago or so as a couple of small pieces rooted in
a 3 or 4 inch hanging pot. It has now propogated to two more
planters (for a total of 3 pots since I just kept cutting off
pieces from the original pot) and probably a good 50-75 feet of
vines of vanilla orchid spread out over and in and entwined around
various bushes and plants and dirt (and probably other things that
I don't want to know about) and still no flowers.

Somewhere I read that it doesn't/won't flower until it's 25 feet
in length so I've either missed the flowers or it has to be 25
feet in length in a straight line.

So, if you're wanting flowers, that's not a good way to go.

Tracey

Hi Eric, Thank you. You wrote:

It's my understanding that there are only 4
species of orchids native to the Hawaiian
Islands and all four are not very showy.

The orchids I saw in Hawaii were very showy, and I had the feeling that
they were being grown as a floral crop. There were so many of them.
Almost every tree had several flowers and they were evenly spaced. I
didn't pick any.

Although there were no signs declaring ownership, the general area was
rural, far away from tourist resort business. Definitely
"off-the-beaten-path", deep enough into a forest where only an eleven
year old boy would want to explore. Not too far from this forest,while
exploring I walked into a papaya orchard, heavily laden with fruit.

So the orchid species was probably foreign, perhaps naturalized, but I
would think more likely brought in as a supply crop for the florist
trade. These were some of the most remarkably beautiful flowers I have
ever seen growing!! Anyone entering the forest would immediately take
notice of their striking appearance.

Thank you everyone for your input and help. I hope my inquiries made
interesting reading for this group.

CNK

On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 01:50:17 GMT, Tracey wrote:
Not something I would recommend for an apartment. I have one that
I bought 3 years ago or so as a couple of small pieces rooted in
a 3 or 4 inch hanging pot. It has now propogated to two more
planters (for a total of 3 pots since I just kept cutting off
pieces from the original pot) and probably a good 50-75 feet of
vines of vanilla orchid spread out over and in and entwined around
various bushes and plants and dirt (and probably other things that
I don't want to know about) and still no flowers.

Somewhere I read that it doesn't/won't flower until it's 25 feet
in length so I've either missed the flowers or it has to be 25
feet in length in a straight line.

So, if you're wanting flowers, that's not a good way to go.

Tracey

Vanilla is a vine = string it along the wall above the window and let
it get 30 feet of vine. Just fold it back on itself when you wish or
as I once saw a vineing fig going around 3 sides of an apartment
livingroom. You need at least 25 feet and probably a bend downward.
In the vanilla fields I seen written up they grow up small trees and
the vines only fruit on the downward roll.

Every time you cut yours it starts over. This is total length not
accumulated pieces.

Vandas are very different. Some grow to be small hedge rows and
others are smaller. They demand a great deal of light to bloom. The
amount of light may be what keeps them from growing well in an apt.
Ascendas look like and are about 1/2 vanda, but gorw with a bit less
light and may bloom 2-3 times a year.

IF you have normal house light you would do better with a slipper
orchid or a Phal. Paphs and Phrags are slippers. Phrags require more
water and more light of the two.
SuE
http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/main.php

C. Nick,
Ah, yes, propagating is another matter.
But returning to growing, I guess I should have qualified my response with
"some" orchids are easier to grow. Orchids being exceedingly diverse, many
of them actually are complex to grow as well, especially if one does not
have the ideal environment for growing them. That is actually probably the
greatest secret to growing orchids successfully: one needs to find out what
kind of environment one can provide them, and then find out which orchids
will do well in that kind of an environment. As Tracey pointed out, vanilla
is not the best choice for an apartment. However, even in an apartment, if
you have good window space, you can grow a number of great orchid plants.
And I remember someone on this group (or was it another one?) once posting
about a vanilla plant growing in his kitchen, and that even though it never
flowered, and took over his entire kitchen ceiling, his teenaged children
thought it was still really cool to grow a vanilla plant in the kitchen. So
it sounded from that story like vanilla can be grown indoors without a
green-house, but is it a good idea? It depends on what you expect of it, I
guess. Flowers, no. Small size, no. But the "cool" factor can still be
there.
Joanna

"C. Nick Kruzer" wrote in message
...
Hi Joanna. you wrote:

Growing orchids has the unfortunate reputation
of being complex, but as most of us here have
found, orchids are much easier to grow than
people who don't know about them think. In my
opinion, orchids are in many ways easier to
grow than other houseplants. In fact I havekilled
most other houseplants I have ever owned
, but I find orchids much more difficult to kill --

I made an error in word usage. When I wrote "growing" I actually meant
"propagating". But I'm glad you responded, I might try an orchid or two.
I live in a city as an apartment dweller, so I will have to grow
indoors. I've always wanted to try growing the vanilla orchid!

C.Nick Kruzer

I was searching Internet with google search engine and discovered orchid
and flower growers nearby old papaya farms, which supports my conclusion
that the orchids I saw were not native, but were a floral crop. (I
wrote):

Not too far from this forest,while exploring I
walked into a papaya orchard, heavily laden
with fruit.

Thank you again for your help.

CNK