The Orchid Garden

Maxillaria Tribe – family?

Question:

Okay.. I am going to be a total numbnuts here and ask a stupid question. Is there any difference between a tribe and a family? And if so what? And if a plant is in the same family/tribe, does that mean it can be bred with others in that tribe/family? I did a bunch of google searching,  but I swear this stuff is like a guarded barbecue recipe, and now I am more confused than I was before. This being the first year I have a bunch of stuff in bloom, I was thinking about playing around. Thanks for your wise experience. Crystal — If you don’t buckle down, you’re never going to hit bottom.

Response:

Well, all orchids are actually in the same family…the Orchidaceae… and there are a few very closely related families that are sometimes and sometimes not included in the larger orchid order, Orchidales.  Basically, anything that we call an "orchid" is in the same orchid family…this is the large group that has about 25,000 to 30,000 species of orchids in it.   The orchid family is further divided into subfamily, tribe, and subtribe.  It’s usually the subtribe that determines what orchids are in a breeding group (but not always–some orchids considered in the same genus will not readily interbreed–like some Dendrobium).  When we refer to "the cattleya alliance" or the "oncidium alliance", we’re really referring to which subtribe the orchid belongs to. Some will say "the Cattleya tribe", but that it technically incorrect. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Okay.. I am going to be a total numbnuts here and ask a stupid question. Is there any difference between a tribe and a family? And if so what? And if a plant is in the same family/tribe, does that mean it can be bred with others in that tribe/family? I did a bunch of google searching,  but I swear this stuff is like a guarded barbecue recipe, and now I am more confused than I was before. This being the first year I have a bunch of stuff in bloom, I was thinking about playing around. Thanks for your wise experience.

Response:

Filed under: Dendrobium Orchid

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