catasetum ciliatum - male and female buds

this spike is made up of both male and female flowers, it is not common for catasetums to do this but this is my second plant doing so in this season. this plant is catasetum ciliatum and even the male flowers itself, while in bud looks like female to untrained eyes because of the hooded appearance.

below are a few pics showing the difference of male and female ciliatum flowers while in bud

the two below is the male flower (the metal wire is a 3mm diameter wire for comparison of size)

the two pics below are female flower buds, the hood is larger and greener compare to the male one, and the pedicle is also broader compare to the male flowers

the pic below showing both the female and male flower for easier comparison (female on the right of the pic)

and off course there is no telling whether the female bud will be a pure female or a hermaphrodite until it opens =D

catasetum ciliatum, hermaphrodite

this is a hermaphrodite ciliatum actually, though it looks very much like a female but it is a hermaphrodite. the red coloration at the margin of the labellum indicates that it is not a pure female although other part of the flower is greenish including the round cap anther is present.

 frontal view of the hermaphrodite flower, the red lip margin is visible

lateral view of the flower showing the RESUPINATE dome shape of the labellum, much bigger compare to a male labellum and it is non resupinate in the latter

last pic below just showing the round tip anther

catasetum naso, finally a pure male flower

this plant has gave me multiple spike before but mostly are female and some are hermaphrodites. the nearest male flower i had was the last spike, under the post title catasetum naso but even though that flower was just another hermaphrodite with more male features.
this spike appears initially with three female like buds and three male buds, however the female buds turn out to be hermaphrodite flowers. i pollinated them, because according to the literature, hermaphrodite are fertile.
just to test if they can produce viable seeds.

the labellum of the naso are trilobe, with the apex lobe being pointy in appearance, usually longer compare to the sanguineum. the internal side of the labellum are dark brown to red in color with some yellow coloration. the edge of the loge are only tenaciously serrated and it is located mostly near the base of the labellum near the column.

the first pic below is to show the internal part of the labellum, the antennae touches each other as they enter the sac of the labellum, just like the sanguineum. the lateral margins of the labellum are mostly serrated near the flowr column. for sanguineum the serrated margin is more pronounce and it occupies the lateral border of the labellum as well.

lateral view of the flower

appearance of the flower spike

final picture below showing the measurements of the flower segment 

catasetum fimbriatum 16-2013

first fimbriatum bloom for the year 2013 and also the highest count for this fimbriatum variety i had so far. sixteen of them in a spike. the smell is very pleasant, slight sweet minty type to my nose, noticeable about 4-5 feet distance from the flower. in fact it was the first smell that greeted me this morning the moment i step foot in the garden.

the first two pic is the natural color of this fimbriatum variety

appearance of the spike

 i did not trimmed the lateral sepals, they will arch to the back of the column, almost touching each other as the flower matures. the final two pic shows the position of the lateral sepals as they arched backwards. comparison can be made with the pic just above this phrase

detail of the fimbriatum flower

catasetum Chong Keng Yong

this is a cross between catasetum Bound for Glory with catasetum Susan Fuchs 'burgundy chips'. this plant had been with me for two years plus but after the second spike of male inflorescence, this plant has produced female inflorescence since then. for this season, once the spike started to emerge, i transferred the entire plant to a shady place to have higher chance of male inflorescence and eureka!
thirteen of them in this spike, in fact the highest count for this variety so far. i like the prominent callus on the labellum, raised and coarse in texture.

the first pic below, showing individual close up of the flower

picture two to picture five, multiple shots at the spike with under different lighting 

the last pic below is a closeup on the detail of the callus on the labellum

i am not sure if anyone notice, there are individual flowers (two to be exact) where the tip of the labellum is void of the greenish hue. when i initially got this plant and earn my own spike, all the flowers do not have the greenish hue. but the subsequent inflorescence has it. the first picture is the individual flower without it and most of the flower facing the camera has the greenish hue on it

catasetum ciliatum

this species is readily identified by its ciliated lip margin and the velvety of the inner labellum. the catasetum ciliatum. it has a pair of short stout trigger pollina, resembles a pair of fangs (same goes to its closely related species namely the roseoalbum, longifolium and gardneri under the pseudocatasetum group). the spike is erected in nature and epiphytic in nature as well.
it is recently that i learn that ciliatum is not a synonym for ctsm discolor. two closely resemblance species, from one internet citation there is 65% genetic similarity. however the ciliatum is identified by the presence of the purplish brown velvety stripes on the inner labellum with the more dark colored frimbriated lip margin near the tip of the labellum and in nature the ciliatum is epiphytic while the discolor is terrestial in nature.
ciliatum sepals and petal are curled, greenish white in color. the rim of the labellum is whithish with dark purplish browh tip. the appearance of the small flower is sometimes described as resemblance to a bee at flight.

first and second picture below is the appearance of part of the spike

close up of the pic, the inner velvety of the labellum and the cilia on the periphery is visible here

pic below showing closeup of the trigger pollina, as mentioned earlier, "fangs"

catasetum cirrhaeoides 'claro'

 i posted this quite sometime before however feel like posting this again because the spike this small little plant is putting out is very showy. 21 flowers in a spike. though i had seen spike with >21 flowers in a single spike for this species, but this is my first catasetum species that had more than 20 flowers in a spike for me.