Object Details
Description
Originally collected by the botanist F. Y. Liu in 1990, by 2014 a returning botanist could not find this large, white flowered orchid in its original habitat. The town of Wenshan, for which this orchid is named, is a busy market town with a thriving trade in wild collected orchids and other plants. It is very likely that C. wenshanense has been over collected from its small natural range, and it is now endangered for this reason, as well as deforestation. The Wenshan Cymbidium is readily propagated by seed and cultivated, which is how we came to have this orchid in our collection.
Bloom Time (Northern Hemisphere)
February to April
Pollination Syndrome
Bee
Provenance
From a cultivated plant not of known wild origin
Accession Number
2020-0136A
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Life Form
Epiphytic
Bloom Characteristics
Suberect to arching inflorescence is 12.8-15.6" long with 3-7 white flowers with red lines on lip. The lip turns pink as it ages. Flower is 2.4-2.8" across.
Fragrance
Bananas
Range
China (SE Yunnan) to Vietnam
Habitat
Montane evergreen forests; 1000-1500m
See more items in
Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection
Common Name
The Wenshan Cymbidium
Group
[vascular plants]
Class
Equisetopsida
Subclass
Magnoliidae
Superorder
Lilianae
Order
Asparagales
Family
Orchidaceae
Subfamily
Epidendroideae
Genus
Cymbidium
Species
wenshanense
Data Source
Smithsonian Gardens
Topic
Orchids
Living Collections
Link to Original Record
Record ID
ofeo-sg_2020-0136A