You're not gonna get a name, Joe. You're plant is unfortunately forever a NOID (No ID). There are HUNDREDS of plants that look EXACTLY like this one. To narrow it down to one would be impossible. You're gonna have to enjoy it for what it is, a pretty flower without a name :(

You might go to the websites of Carmela Orchids and Kawamoto Orchids, both of Hawaii and look at their catt hybrids. With patience you might find something similar. If this lady collected plants 20 to 30 years ago, these are oldies but goodies which will never be named.

If you do find a match, I wouldn't enter the plant for an AOS judging but for society ribbon judging, it's good enough.

Nick

I agree with terpguy, it is impossible to ID a white cattleya bloom, particularly on the internet. Maybe you will get lucky and when you repot you might find a name tag buried in the pot.

Enjoy your fragrant blooms.

Brooke

Not so fast, some of the 'Oldies' do stay on the market if they are particular attractive. I have Blc Burdekin Wonder Lake land which I have seen offered for sale repeatedly over the years. Check it out, I think it's a dead ringer for your second picture.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Blc-Burdekin-Wonder-Lake-Land-AM-AOS-Easy2Grow-Sheath-/290519217320?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0amp;hash=item43a44b74a8

I also have a plant which blooms exactly like your last picture but can't think of the name.

Nick

Forgot to mention, if it's Burdekin it should be very fragrant.

Nick

And it could be Bob Betts, also very fragrant or at least the pictures with the yellow throat.

Brooke

I thought Bob Betts was purple. I have Marcella Koss, Bob Betts is one of the parents.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community/pests-diseases/32015-cattleya-bob-betts-appears-dying-pictures-attached.html

Nick

Uh, nick? Bob Betts is a classic white, if not THE quintessential, most widely known white.

You are right about Bob Betts, the picture I posted was a mislabelled plant. I looked at a few pictures of Bob Betts and the edge of the lip appears smoother than the ruffled lip of Burdekin. I have bloomed Burdekin for about 10 years so know the plant well. My crosse's lip is ruffled like the picture of this post.

We need input from the owner of the plant, what do you think?

Nick

Nick, how many white cattleyas have ruffled lips because of Rhyncholaelia digbyana? All of them. Your Burdekin, from the pictures I'm finding on the internet, is shaped differently than this. Yours has taller flowers. This one looks shorter from top to bottom, more like a nobile dendrobium. There are just too many plants that look like this to even attempt an ID. And the one person who might have the slightest clue is unfortunately no longer with us :(

OK, I give up. I have a Bow Bells too but that one seems definitely taller. Guess you really cannot be sure, too many whites with yellow lips around.

Nick

Nick did you get a Bow Bells? Are you still interested in mine when I divide it?

My Bow Bells and Bob Betts are the same height. Bow Bells sprawls when it grows and the leads are far apart. Bob is more upright compact grower. Bob blooms about the time Bow is finishing up.

Sorry the pics are from a few years ago but you can see how similar they are except for the lip coloration.

Bob Betts {{gwi:138968}} Bow Bells {{gwi:140779}}

Brooke

I have had a Bow Bells since 1996 but it is not doing well. It grew well for many years but has been steadily declining the last 2 to 3 years. It tested negative for virus but never the less is just not doing well no matter what I do for it. I have been looking for another one for some time. I'm just about ready to discard it as it probably does have a virus anyway despite the negative tests. I'm looking forward to trading you for a piece.

Nick

Your first and last pictures look like Bc Pastoral 'Innocence'
. There are many ways you reduce the pool of possibilities,
- grow the plat to its potential
- note the blooming season and when they plant is in active growth or dormant.
- take clear pictures of flower
- do lots of research and comparison with some of the major nurseries web sistes (carmela's, odoms, hr, etc..)
- bring to local OS meeting and see if anyone is blooming one at same time and compare plant and flower.

You may get very close and actually find the exact duplicate and name. Used to be many hybrids catts out there, but these days they are mostly clones, should not be so hard (if it's a clone).

Best of luck with your search....

But thats the problem Ben. You DON'T know if its a clone, and theres no way to know without doing genetics testing. So the best you can do is say "it looks an awful lot like...". This catt IS old, from when there were a lot of catts floating around.

Thanks for all the input, I knew it might be difficult considering the vast amount of whites out there. They are a little older... The tags that came with them just had the repot date and the number of blossoms each year. One was repotted in September of 2008, has 22 p-bulbs and flowered this past month with 11 blossoms total with triples and doubles... I've started a journal to keep track of these newly acquired beauties. Hopefully when I repot the bigger ones this spring, I might find a buried tag :) Thanks again for the excellent insight!!