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June 2000 This Month ONT will focus on: "Odontocidiums - Bigeneric Hybrids" Written By Mrs. Tessa Rakow. Odontocidiums (i.e. bigeneric hybrids between the genera Odontoglossum and Oncidium) seemed the natural extension to Odontoglossum breeding. There were (and still are) three main aims in this sort of breeding:
Of the dozens of Oncidium species available, up to 1993, only sixteen different ones were used as direct parents to make odontocidiums and with few exceptions, they were used only four to five times each. The exceptions will be briefly discussed in this article.
Oncidium maculatum is a warm growing species producing metre-long, upright panicles (i.e. branched spikes) with many 50mm fragrant flowers. It transmits warmth tolerance, good spike habit and excellent substance to its progeny but, unfortunately, it reduces the size of the flowers.
In Odcdm. Hay Tor 'Everglades' (Onc. maculatum x Odm. crispum) (reg. 1979) the Onc. maculatum shape can be clearly seen, although Odm. crispum has filled out the shape of the segments. An award given to the same grex some ten years after the 'Everglades' cultivar describes a plant with two branched inflorescences carrying 111 star-shaped flowers - a testimony to the Onc. maculatum influence. Odcdm. Big Mac 'Everglades' AM/AOS (reg. 1975) is a primary hybrid between Onc. maculatum and Odm. hallii. The waxy and long-lasting flowers are borne on branched spikes and apparently make excellent cut flowers. (Carpenter: AOS bulletin Vol. 49 page 116). It has been awarded several times during the 1990s. Odcdm. Orizaba 'Flower Tree' HCC/AOS (Onc. maculatum x Odm. Moselle) (reg. 1977) is a fine, vigorous and free-blooming plant bearing many flowers on the heavily branched spikes and it tolerates heat extremely well. In October 1991, Odcdm. Rodger Cole (Odm. retusum x Onc. maculatum) (reg. 1991) was given an Award of Distinction by the American Orchid Society for 'an interesting new direction using Odm. retusum and Onc. maculatum, producing dark colour and contrasting patterns' (AQ Vol. 23 page 230). The flowers were not at all big, in fact with only a 30mm natural spread, but the colour was stunning. The petals were deep mahogany tipped with golden yellow and the lip had a yellow callus with red stripes, a blood red mask and a yellow skirt.
Oncidium leucochilum is found in both the wet and dry wooded mountains up to 2000 metres in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. In cultivation the temperature must be intermediate to cool. Onc. leucochilum has been used eleven times in breeding - ten times as the pollen parent. It is dominant for vigour, spike habit (which in the species can be as long as four metres), flower size (±30mm) and lip shape.
An early Onc. leucochilum hybrid (and the only one where it was a pod parent) is Odcdm. Crowborough (Onc. leucochilum x Odm. Golden Guinea) (reg.1965). It has been quite extensively awarded by the AOS (thirteen times, with the most recent being a CCM in 1982) and an early SAOC award was given to the clone, 'Westfield'. Odcdm. Crowborough is an important parent and has been used six times up to 1993 in pure Odcdm. breeding.
Odontocidium Crowborough
In 1994, four hybrids with Odcdm. Crowborough as a parent were registered - one of which was Odcdm. Sugar and Spice. (Crowborough x Odm. Somelle). It was registered in October 1994 by James Rose of Cal-Orchids and to date the grex has already received two AOS awards. The flowers are attractively patterned - yellow with red-brown markings - and a striking contrast is created by the pure white lip.
Odm. Summit was crossed with Onc. leucochilum, the cross was registered in 1994 and is called Odcdm. Cherry Fudge. This grex has been awarded eight times since registration - seven AM's and one HCC. The award description of Odcdm. Cherry Fudge 'Cherries Jubilee' AM/AOS is '33 flowers and 9 buds on one branched inflorescence, flowers uniform dark cordovan with brick red lip ...substance heavy, texture varnished. NS 51mm' (AQ Vol. 26 page 157 (1995) Another highly awarded Onc. leucochilum cross is Odcdm. Dark Charmer (Odm. Tenchita x Onc. leucochilum) reg. 1991. It has eight AOS awards to date. The flowers of this grex generally have a pale green base colour and the petals and sepals are heavily blotched with dark chocolate brown.
From these examples, it can be seen that, besides its other characteristics, Onc. leucochilum is an important source of rich, dark colour and interesting patterns. It must be noted that the hybrids of Onc. leucochilum prefer cool-growing conditions. In spite of this it seems to have gained in popularity as a parent in recent years. The one Oncidium species has been used most in Oncidium breeding is Oncidium tigrinum. It is found only in the oak forests of Mexico at an altitude of 1600 to 2000 metres. It grows under very cold winter conditions and Leon Wiard in his book entitled An Introduction of the Orchids of Mexico says: "I first saw Onc. tigrinum on a cold, November morning in Morelia, Michoacan. Unaccustomed as I was then to the varied lifestyle of Mexican orchids, I was surprised to see it in full bloom, apparently thriving in temperatures so low that I could see my breath." (Wiard page 116).
So Onc. tigrinum cannot be used to introduce any warmth tolerance to Odontoglossum hybrids. It does however give vigour, large lip size and shape and also imparting the yellow and brown colour and yellow lip, thus characterising odontocidiums as those plants which produce masses of yellow and brown flowers!
Odcdm. Hans Neuenhaus (reg. 1975) has lovely flowers (+/-90mm) with bright contrasting yellow lips. Some clones have good flat flowers with heavy substance and glossy texture. This grex, whose parents are Onc. tigrinum x Odm. Moselle, has been awarded more than twenty times and on the 21st anniversary of its registration it received its most recent award. Surely this is a sign of good breeding?
Odcdm. Arthur Elle
SAOC awards were given to Odcdm. Arthur Elle "Colombien" AM/SAOC (Onc.tigrinum x Odm. Hambuhren Gold). reg. 1981 and Odcdm. Ryoko Miyamoto "Malelane" (Onc. tigrinum x Odm. Stropheon) reg. 1978. In the latter hybrid, the Odontoglossum shape is dominant but Onc. tigrinum has improved and enlarged the shape of the lip.
An Eric Young Foundation registration of 1988, Odcdm. La Rocque "Mont Millais" (Onc. tigrinum x Odm. Stonehurst Yellow) achieved the rare honour of an FCC/RHS. Beautiful yellow flat flowers are attractively marked and well-presented on the spike.
Two of the best known and hence very good odontocidiums are Odcdm. Tiger Butter and Odcdm. Tiger Hambuhren. When one talks about the "best-known" or a "good" hybrid, the question arises - what is a good hybrid? Firstly, it should be an improvement on both its parents and secondly, as a parent itself, it should produce prize-winning progeny. Both Odcdm. Tiger Butter and Odcdm. Tiger Hambuhren have met these criteria.
Odcdm. Tiger Hambuhren (Onc. tigrinum x Odm. Goldrausch) reg. 1976 produces good-sized flowers which are generally flat and have good substance. It is floriferous, and capable of carrying up to thirty-nine flowers on one infloresence; these flowers are usually well-presented on the spike. The grex has been awarded twenty-eight times by the AOS. Odcdm. Tiger Hambuhren has been awarded twice by the SAOC judges - cultivar "Rage" received an HCC of 79% and "Patricia" and AM of 80%. It has not been a particularly prolific parent but what it has produced has been good. Looking only at its Odontocidium offspring, of the thirteen that have been registered to date, five have accumulated seventeen awards among them. e.g. Odcdm. Mayfair (Tiger Hambuhren x Odm. Herb Thoreson). reg. 1993 has already had four awards, among them the much coveted FCC for the clone "RCW" - a first flowering seedling.
A hybrid with more awards, with more children and with more awarded offspring than Odcdm. Tiger Hambuhren is Odcdm. Tiger Butter (reg. 1962). It is also an Onc. tigrinum cross and the other parent is Odm. Golden Avalanche. Odcdm. Tiger Butter has received forty-three AOS awards, one of which was an FCC. The lovely richly coloured petals and sepals are a pleasant change from the yellow with brown markings. (The deep colour is probably from the species in the background of the Odontoglossum hybrid). Tiger Butter has long branching inflorescencs with many small to intermediate flowers.
Odcdm. Tiger Butter
And now, what of its children? They are numerous and many are prize winners. Thirty-nine odontocidiums have been made with Odcdm. Tiger Butter as the one parent and these children have totalled forty-two awards so far. A few examples of these prize-winning progeny are briefly mentioned below. Odcdm. Tiger Night 'Tuscan Gold' HCC/AOS (Tiger Butter x Onc. tigrinum) reg. 1987. This has two infusions of Onc. tigrinum giving the flowers of this hybrid lovely bright yellow lips contrasting with the dark sepals and petals. Odcdm. Sierra Gold (Tiger Butter x Onc. marshallianum) reg. 1974. The Onc. marshallianum has had little influence on the shape of the flower although the lip is reminiscent of the species. Odcdm. Yellow Point (Odm. Gold Basin x Tiger Butter) reg. 1979 has lovely shaped flowers but they are not very well presented on the spike. The SAOC judges awarded an HCC to the clone 'Classy'.
The most highly awarded of Tiger Butter's babies is Odcdm. Jacobert (Tiger Butter x Odm. Toralis) reg. 1974. The average natural spread of the flowers is 85mm but the plants do not produce many flowers and the flowers shape is somewhat starry. These drawbacks may account for Odcdm. Jacobert's lack of awards since 1987. It is, however, interesting to note that a recent hybrid, Odcdm. Kojak (Jacobert x Crowborough) reg. in 1994 has already been awarded an HCC.
Odontocidium have been made to create easier to grow plants, plants tolerate of quite high light; plants carrying long branched spikes which can bear up to 100 well-spaced flowers; plants which are more tolerant of heat and temperature variations. (This depends on the Oncidium that is used). Odontocidiums are also easier to breed with than straight odontoglossums. The disadvantage of these bigenerics is their somewhat limited colour combinations. However, with many oncidiums still untried the scope for new and different odontocidiums is almost limitless.
References: American Orchid Society, Awards Quarterlies. Carpenter, M. (1994). Oncidiinae Intergenerics. American Orchid Society Bulletin. 63(1), 10-17. - (1980). Hybridising for Temperature Tolerance in the Oncidium/Odontoglossum Alliance Intergenerics. American Orchid Society Bulletin. 49(2), 111-119. Dugger, R. (1977). Odontoglossum Hybridising for the Future. American Orchid Society Bulletin 46(5), 400-405. - (1981). Species used in the Odontoglossum Inter-generic Alliance and their Dominant Characteristics. Proceedings Tenth World Orchid Conference. South African Orchid Council. Wiard, L. (1987). An Introduction to the Orchids of Mexico. Cornell University Press. Sander's Lists of Orchid Hybrids.
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