Random plant event: Miltonidium 'Hawaiian Sunset' flowers

Aaaaand we're back to orchid pictures again, mainly because I still feel really unwell (sore, exhausted, kittenishly weak, emotionally volatile -- it's still not conclusive that I'm actually sick with anything, but it's clear enough to me that I wouldn't be functional at work. Standing up is a little bit challenging; running carts of stuff around and lifting bags of soil and whatever is out of the question.) and orchid pictures are, as previously noted, easy posts.

This particular plant isn't so much pretty as it is weird-looking. WCW and I have agreed that it's not the orchid breeders' best work. Miltonidium (Mtdm.) are crosses between Miltonia and Oncidium; I don't know anything about 'Hawaiian Sunset' specifically.


Frequent commenter sheila sent me an e-mail a while back containing the following paragraph which explains the American Orchid Society's awards for new cultivars. It's a quote from the (now defunct? I can't load the page, anyway. . . .) billybuds.com website:

The American Orchid Society (and other national groups) has established a series of criteria of excellence by which orchid plants are evaluated. Individual orchid plants ("cultivars" or "clones") may receive flower quality awards such as the First Class Certificate (FCC/AOS, 90+ points), Award of Merit (AM/AOS, 80 - 89 points), or Highly Commended Certificate (HCC/AOS, 75 - 79 points). Other awards may be given for achievement in culture, Certificate of Cultural Merit (CCM/AOS), or for botanical novelty, the Certificate of Botanical Recognition (CBR/AOS) and the Certificate of Horticultural Merit (CHM/AOS). While there are other flower awards that may be encountered, these will be the most commonly seen. Such awards are the purchaser’s assurance of a high level of flower quality, whether in the plant itself or of its parents. Plants are judged at monthly judgings held at Centers around the country, or at AOS-sanctioned orchid shows, of which there are over 250 annually around the world.

So I guess the Bakerara Truth 'Silver Chalice' didn't get an aluminum medal after all.