Pretty picture: NOID orchid

Usually, NOID orchids are NOIDs because we don't have an identification for them at all. This particular NOID is a NOID because we have more than one identification tag for it, the tags don't agree with one another, and I don't think either of the tags actually refer to the flower in question.

It's pretty anyway, though.


We got two of this same plant in yesterday's tropical order. One had a tag in it saying "Mtssa. Shelob 'Webmaster.'" The other plant had a tag saying "Odcdm. Alxra. Pacific Paradox 'Yellow Star.'"

The latter doesn't exist, according to Google Image Search, and the shorter "Alxra. Pacific Paradox 'Yellow Star' gets a "Did you mean alcra. pacific paradox 'yellow star?'"

'Yellow Star' is similar, but still different: the brown spots are more concentrated in the center of the flower. This might be the same thing, but might not. (Picture of 'Yellow Star') The search for the other tag turns up something that looks a lot like the Miltassa we've seen recently, which is not surprising since it's from the same cross.

So: I think it's the Alcra. (Alcra. = Aliceara, which is Brassia x Miltonia x Oncidium; Alxra. does actually exist, and refers to the similar but distinct Alexanderara, which is the same mix as Aliceara but with the addition of some Cochlioda genes. Confused yet?) I just don't think it's that particular one.

So I think it's clear that the moral of the story is, don't assume you know what it is just 'cause it has a tag in it. Which if you've been buying plants for any length of time at all you already knew, or at least suspected, anyway.