The Orchid Garden

Are Cymbidium aloifolium and simulans the same?

Question:

Does anyone have photos of both these species? I have one plant in flower that has a pendant spike habit with the flower spike about 18 inches long. The flowers have deep mahogany stripes on all segments including the lip. The base color is a dark cream color. We imported these about ten years ago and this is the first time I flowered it. According to Flora of Malaya by Holttum it is Cym. simulans (C.aloifolium) and similar to C.pubescens. I was suprised by the spike habit having seen a plant in flower marked C. simulans at the Little Greenhouse outside Balt. MD. with an upright spike habit.

Response:

Ok, according to ‘The Genus Cymbidium’ Du Pui and Crib pg 62. they are the same species. Rolfe named it simulans in 1917 and L (?) had it as aloifolium in 1753. Du Pui and Cribb state that there is much variation in this subgenus in terms of leaf morphology, anatomy especailly in the callus. The subgenus is characterized by pendant to arching but only rarely suberect scapes. Later on pg 66 he states that Rolfe did a study on the species in 1917 and separated out simulans from 5 other subspecies, however the preserved specimen showing the erect scape also had the flowers inverted, hence they inferred that the scape actually was pendant. Du Pui and Cribb say it is now considered to be conspecific with aloifolium. K Barrett – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone have photos of both these species? I have one plant in flower that has a pendant spike habit with the flower spike about 18 inches long. The flowers have deep mahogany stripes on all segments including the lip. The base color is a dark cream color. We imported these about ten years ago and this is the first time I flowered it. According to Flora of Malaya by Holttum it is Cym. simulans (C.aloifolium) and similar to C.pubescens. I was suprised by the spike habit having seen a plant in flower marked C. simulans at the Little Greenhouse outside Balt. MD. with an upright spike habit.

Response:

What I want to know is why they had to use a name that’s SO easy to misspell and mispronounce – aliofolium actually even sounds better to me! PS – the spell check in Outlook Express suggested that aliofolium was a misspelling of alcoholism!  Maybe they’ve got something there. — Ray Barkalow –<– First Rays Orchids http://www.firstrays.com Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Ok, according to ‘The Genus Cymbidium’ Du Pui and Crib pg 62. they are the same species. Rolfe named it simulans in 1917 and L (?) had it as aloifolium in 1753. Du Pui and Cribb state that there is much variation in this subgenus in terms of leaf morphology, anatomy especailly in the callus. The subgenus is characterized by pendant to arching but only rarely suberect scapes. Later on pg 66 he states that Rolfe did a study on the species in 1917 and separated out simulans from 5 other subspecies, however the preserved specimen showing the erect scape also had the flowers inverted, hence they inferred that the scape actually was pendant. Du Pui and Cribb say it is now considered to be conspecific with aloifolium. K Barrett Does anyone have photos of both these species? I have one plant in flower that has a pendant spike habit with the flower spike about 18 inches long. The flowers have deep mahogany stripes on all segments including the lip. The base color is a dark cream color. We imported these about ten years ago and this is the first time I flowered it. According to Flora of Malaya by Holttum it is Cym. simulans (C.aloifolium) and similar to C.pubescens. I was suprised by the spike habit having seen a plant in flower marked C. simulans at the Little Greenhouse outside Balt. MD. with an upright spike habit.

Response:

Ha! I kept wanting to write aioli, a kind of chi-chi yuppie mayonaisse dipping sauce for veggies. Am I from California or what? K Barrett – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What I want to know is why they had to use a name that’s SO easy to misspell and mispronounce – aliofolium actually even sounds better to me! PS – the spell check in Outlook Express suggested that aliofolium was a misspelling of alcoholism!  Maybe they’ve got something there. — Ray Barkalow –<– First Rays Orchids http://www.firstrays.com Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info Ok, according to ‘The Genus Cymbidium’ Du Pui and Crib pg 62. they are the same species. Rolfe named it simulans in 1917 and L (?) had it as aloifolium in 1753. Du Pui and Cribb state that there is much variation in this subgenus in terms of leaf morphology, anatomy especailly in the callus. The subgenus is characterized by pendant to arching but only rarely suberect scapes. Later on pg 66 he states that Rolfe did a study on the species in 1917 and separated out simulans from 5 other subspecies, however the preserved specimen showing the erect scape also had the flowers inverted, hence they inferred that the scape actually was pendant. Du Pui and Cribb say it is now considered to be conspecific with aloifolium. K Barrett Does anyone have photos of both these species? I have one plant in flower that has a pendant spike habit with the flower spike about 18 inches long. The flowers have deep mahogany stripes on all segments including the lip. The base color is a dark cream color. We imported these about ten years ago and this is the first time I flowered it. According to Flora of Malaya by Holttum it is Cym. simulans (C.aloifolium) and similar to C.pubescens. I was suprised by the spike habit having seen a plant in flower marked C. simulans at the Little Greenhouse outside Balt. MD. with an upright spike habit.

Response:

What I want to know is why they had to use a name that’s SO easy to misspell and mispronounce –

Sorry but I did spell it correctly-at least according to the spelling found in the Holttum book.

Response:

Ha! I kept wanting to write aioli, a kind of chi-chi yuppie mayonaisse dipping sauce for veggies. Am I from California or what?

Yes, you are from California.  Aioli is a traditional Italian condiment.  I don’t think the Godfather would be pleased to hear that aioli is chi-chi.

Response:

Oh, you spelled it correctly, all right.  I was just commenting on the odd spelling the name has. — Ray Barkalow –<– First Rays Orchids http://www.firstrays.com Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What I want to know is why they had to use a name that’s SO easy to misspell and mispronounce – Sorry but I did spell it correctly-at least according to the spelling found in the Holttum book.

Response:

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/9686/other.htm Has a photo of simulans in bloom… if they are right. http://www.bms.ac.th/~m4_6/thai_orkid/rose.htm The summary for this Chinese (Traditional) page contains characters that cannot be correctly displayed in english. The Photos are labeled in english. WWW.OrchidWeb.com was also listed as a site – but I could not get it to load tonight. Good Luck. SuE – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone have photos of both these species? I have one plant in flower that has a pendant spike habit with the flower spike about 18 inches long. The flowers have deep mahogany stripes on all segments including the lip. The base color is a dark cream color. We imported these about ten years ago and this is the first time I flowered it. According to Flora of Malaya by Holttum it is Cym. simulans (C.aloifolium) and similar to C.pubescens. I was suprised by the spike habit having seen a plant in flower marked C. simulans at the Little Greenhouse outside Balt. MD. with an upright spike habit.

Response:

Filed under: Cymbidium Orchids

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