Gomesa forbesii

This cheerful orchid makes me think of the warm moist air of the Organ Mountains in Brazil.

This beautiful orchid, previously known as Oncidium forbesii, is a species I have seen growing in Brazil during expeditions to South East Brazil in 2000 and 2006. 

I found it growing at around 1100m on the tops of branches in good light on trackside trees in both primary forests and established secondary forest.

The species flowers on young plants with just one or two flowers and then as plants mature and pseudobulbs get bigger flowers spikes can reach 70cm long with up to thirty flowers.

The plant shown was purchased in flask in 2006 and has flowered reliably every autumn/winter since starting flowering just three years out of flask.

We find that plants do well in baskets and over time they produce a mass of roots as do plants in the wild. We grow the species happily in the roof of our Cloud Forest Glasshouse which is not a surprise as we found it growing in exposed spots close to cloud forest.

The Brazilian Oncidiums such as this species have recently been moved into the genus Gomesa based on DNA analysis which we have followed. We use Plants of the World Online https://powo.science.kew.org/ as a reference for keeping names up to date.