As we enjoy our expedition to Sarawak I am reminded of our first Orchid Project expedition to Brazil in 2000 where we first came across today’s stunning orchid.

This beautiful Oncidium is a species we have seen growing in Brazil on our expeditions in 2000 and 2006. We found it growing at around 1100m on the tops of branches in good light on trackside trees in both primary forests and established secondary forest.

The species flowers on young plants with just one or two flowers and then as plants mature and pseudobulbs get bigger flowers spikes can reach 70cm long with up to thirty flowers.

The plant shown was purchased in flask from Richard Warren (Equatorial Plants) and has flowered reliably every autumn since starting flowering just three years out of flask.

We find that plants do well in baskets and over time they produce a mass of roots as do plants in the wild. We grow the species happily in our Cool Americas section.

The Brazilian Oncidiums such as this species have recently been moved into the genus Gomesa based on DNA analysis.