Synopsis of Ray McCullough's talk at the 3/10/96 AAOS meeting. This was the third time that Ray had spoken before our society, and it was a program that he prepared especially for our group. Ray showed about 80 slides of various species; the notes on several of these are included below.
Thin leaves burn easily and need some shade. Usually there are prominent
veins on the underside of the leaves of thin-leafed types of orchids.
Plicate-leaved (leaves appear folded) forms include Lycaste, Gongora,
and Coelogyne. Ray pointed out to us that "It takes good leaves and good
roots to get good flowers."
All Michigan orchids (there are 52-56 species native to Michigan) are
thin-leafed forms. Arethusa bulbosa is found in swamps and bogs east of
Holly, MI. Cypripedium acaule, the pink lady's-slipper, blooms in the
oak-pine forest in the first or second week in June, later if the winter
has been very cold. Ray found this specimen near the Army Artillery
Range near Grayling, MI. Cypripedium calceolus var. pubescens - the
yellow lady's-slipper; has a veined dorsal sepal, and not much twisting
of petals. Cypripedium calceolus var. parviflorum has smaller, darker
petals and sepals, with more twisting, and grows in clumps. Cypripedium
candidum has narrower leaves, an ivory to white pouch, and hybridizes
naturally with C. calceolus in Livingston County near Holly, MI.
Cypripedium reginae - white flower with pink pouch, grows waist high;
this slide was taken in a clearcut area for powerlines on a grassy slope
on well-draining limestone near Holly; it is the state flower of
Minnesota.
Lycastes - grow best in shredded tree fern in clay pots, tree fern
doesn't decay much; Lycastes have small petals and lip, relatively large
sepals; form one bulb per year; often have sharp spines or barbs
("armed") at apex where leaves attach to bulb. Pink Lycastes are
"unarmed" - lack these barbs. Principal species: Lycaste ciliata - S.
American species with hair-like structures on lip; L. macrophylla -
brown sepals, greenish petals, white and red lip, larger numbers of
flowers per bulb; L. lasioglossa - chocolate sepals, light yellow petals
and lip; L. cruenta - greenish yellow sepals, yellow petals; Lycaste
skinneri - petals, lip and sepals pink; in nature, grows 5 to 15 ft.
above ground in undisturbed forests, pure white form is now virtually
extinct in the wild; at 4000 ft. on the slopes of an active volcano near
Coban in Guatemala, Otto Mittelstaedt grows 50,000 pale pink L.
skinneris in treefern pots in his Lycaste Nursery - shady, 55¯ F,
breezy, damp (not drenched) conditions at night in Nov. -Dec. (Ray's
cool greenhouse got down to 50¯ F at night in winter. He watered his
Lycastes very frequently, but reduced watering when days got very
short); L. imshootiana - white, is natural hybrid of L. skinneri and L.
cruenta, 50 flowers. In passing, Ray remarked that judges in the U.S.
tend to overrate Lycastes.
Coryanthes speciosa - "bucket orchid," grows on limbs over mountain
streams in Guatemala in Central and South America; need to grow in
basket because of downward-growing inflorescence. Houlettia tigrina - S.
American species; inflorescence must grow down through bottom of basket,
like a Stanhopea. Stanhopea has one leaf per bulb and likewise must grow
in baskets. In mid-June, Ray would put his Stanhopeas and many other
orchids outside beneath a pipe-frame rack under shade cloth for the
summer (until mid-September). The main species that he grew were:
Stanhopea intermedia - Mexico to Central America, yellow and white
petals, sepals; S. graveolans - known in Costa Rica as S. costaricensis
- red spots on yellow blooms; S. martiana - very beautiful; usually 2-3
flowers in inflorescence, white with reddish spots or blotches; False S.
grandiflora; the real S. grandiflora is pure white, is also known as S.
eburneum in Surinam; S. oculata - has black "eye" in flower, ranges from
Mexico to Nicaragua, where it has smaller spots and is called S. wardii;
S. ecornuta - bright yellow with red spots, known for its unique
flat-bottomed lip; S. connata = the orange Stanhopea; S. saccata -
smooth on sides of lip, white and golden with spots. In Mexico there is
a similar species, S. radiosa - has extra flap on lip; S. tigrina - the
largest flowered Stanhopea, 7 inches across, bright purple lip, rest
white.
Gongoras have two leaves per bulb and must also grow in baskets because
of the long, pendant inflorescence. Ray made his own baskets of cedar,
cypress, or redwood, seven inches square, with " slats and ´" openings
between slats. Under his watering regime, the baskets would last about
three years. He would lay a thin slice of presoaked osmunda in the
bottom of the basket, then place the base of plant atop this and tuck
triangular (x-section) pillars of osmunda in each corner and other
pieces elsewhere to secure it firmly in place. Ray preferred to grow
many of his orchids in osmunda: "it's more expensive but very forgiving
as long as you don't overwater."
Disa - grows in flood plain near black sandstone Blainskloof Mountain in
South Africa - no big trees to shade plants there, just knee-high
vegetation. In nature, plants are supplied with very clear, clean water
flowing down from the mountain - extremely pure water with negligible
amounts of dissolved salts. Splendid Disa plants grown and bloomed in
Detroit area by AAOS member Dr. Art Manoli (recently relocated to
Alabama). Those growing outdoors or under intense light get deep red
colored blooms; in less intense light tend to develop orange
flowers.
--Neal Foster