Coelogyne cristata

"Coelogyne cristata Lindl. is an epiphytic orchid that comes from cool, moist areas of the eastern Himalayas and Vietnam. It blooms every spring, before the snow begins to melt. Its genus name Coelogyne originates from two Greek words, koilos (“hollow”) and gyne (“woman”), because of the orchid’s pistil. Cristata takes its species name from crista, the Latin word for “comb”, because of the look of the flower’s lip."

Coelogyne cristata Lindl., Coll. Bot. (Lindley) 7: sub t. 33 (1821).

Coelogyne cristata Lindl., Photo by Ron Webb

Coelogyne cristata Lindl., Photo by José V. A. Mella Ramirez

its native range is Himalaya to Bangladesh.

Latinh Name: 

Coelogyne cristata Lindl.

Family: 

Orchidaceae Juss.

Synonym:

Coelogyne cristata f. hololeuca (Rchb.f.) M.Wolff & O.Gruss

Coelogyne cristata var. hololeuca Rchb.f.

Cymbidium speciosissimum D.Don

Pleione speciosissima (D.Don) Kuntze

Vietnamse name:

Thanh đạm mào.

English Name:

The Crested Coelogyne (refers to the keels of the lip).

Chinese name:

Bei Mu Lan - 贝母兰 .

Description: 

With oblong, smooth, clustered to well spaced pseudobulbs carrying 2, apical, plicate, 3 to 10 nerved, narrowly lanceolate, sessile, acute, slightly undulate leaves that blooms from mid-winter till spring on a terminal, pendulous to semi-erect, 15 to 30 cm long, racemose, 3 to 10 flowered inflorescence with persistant bracts arising basally on a mature growth and carrying fragrant banana to candy scented flowers.

Distribution:

Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, Nepal, Tibet, West Himalaya.

Ecological:

In lower to upper montane forests at altitudes of 1500 to 2600 m and is a small to medium sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte and occasional lithophyte.

Flowering times:

Blooms from mid-winter till spring.

Flower size:

10.0 cm.

Cultivation:

Humidity:

should be high, about 70%. It should be somewhat higher when the plant is actively growing, and a bit less during the dry season.

Temperatures:

vary seasonally; during the summer, provide intermediate temperatures of 70-75°F (21-24C) during the day. During winter, they like quite cool temperatures of 50-55°F (10-13C). Temperatures should drop 10-15°F (6-8C) at night. They can tolerate freezes briefly, but will cope better if they are dry at the time.

Light:

should be intermediate to high, 2000-3000 footcandles, a bit less than you'd use for Cattleya. They can adapt to higher light if needed, though; in nature, they often grow in direct sunlight.

Type: