I am pretty sure that is not an orchid... Or at least not like I've ever seen before!

You are just about asking the impossible...about ..30,000 orchid species and about

100,000 registered orchid hybrids.

Photos of blooms would help a lot.

I agree with Palmsandsnow especially about plant 2. Plant 1 looks a bit like an Epidendrum in leaf shape but the roots look like those on a Vanda which are not native to that part of the world.

I don't think I'm asking the impossible. I asked whether anyone can confirm whether these are orchids or not. You either can or you can't! Perhaps that's not likely with just a photo of the leaves, which is an altogether different story and I understand. Unfortunately, I received these with no flowers ... I will post additional photos if / when they do flower.

Our local National Orchid Society reports over 143 species on the island, 14 of which are endemic to our rainforest. Vandas and other species are sold in this "part of the world" and many orchid afficionados, including my 86 year old aunt, plant them in-ground and in tree hollows with coco coir to allow them to flourish naturally.

I believe that when my.aunt said she was giving me two orchids that's exactly what she gave me. She's had orchids for over 50 years. I guess I was hoping someone would recognize them by the leaves and confirm. I will certainly come back with photos of flowers to facilitate possible identification of species.

Thank you so much for your input.

http://viviorchids.com/index.php?module=webpage&id=5&page=10

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/crinummoor.htm

Welcome to the wonderful and confusing world of orchids. I gave you the numbers to size the task.

When I said that orchid1 was likely to be a Vanda, I should have said in the Vanda Sub-Tribe.

Around the world, various garden plants with exotic shaped flowers are known by Gardeners as such and such orchid. Examples Poor Man's Orchid, Butterfly Orchid and so on.

Thank you so much for the links, Adam. I truly appreciate your efforts. I believe you may be dead on with the first one. That flower grows wild all over the island and is considered a plague, like bromeliads. I often see huge root systems hanging midair off trees located in trees bordering farm properties. I've also seen it as a smaller, daintier flower ... Perhaps that's the one I have. Hopefully, we will soon know.

Wow, the second one surprises me. If it's the correct one, the site says it's in the amaryllis family. I have lots of amaryllis, including some 3' plants planted in-ground. Those are bulbs, while the one I'm inquiring about is not a bulb. However, the "stem" does have a bulb-like aspect in its "papery" outer layers. That is interesting.

Will share blooms when they appear. Thanks again.

Arachnis is a very common garden plant in Cairns (where i am holidaying at the moment). I even found pieces dumped in the bush from peoples gardens, and i just put a piece in my inlaws croton bush. Hopefully it takes, its a beautiful plant.

I have a couple of those lilies back home. I bought them from the market, but planted them in too shady a spot. I have since potted them up and put them in the sun and they are growing strong. hopefully we both get flowets soon.