What is this plant?

[bench72]

actually the bulbs are underground the medium when he potted it 6mos ago. only the leaf is exposed so i just don't know if there's any effect in the growth of the bulb.

oh... make sure when u repot, to place the plant so that the bulbs are sitting just on top of the media.

[Hoa Tony Nguyen]

Dear ewbie,

Your plant looks like a coelogyne species to me. One way to find out is looking at the roots. If some of the roots have hairs then it is most likely a coelogyne. Coelogyne roots are similar to Paph roots but they look brownish, more fragile and smaller. Stanhopea roots have no hair and look shiny white quite similar to oncidium/dend/catts roots. BTW, good call, Tim!!!
Have fun with your plant.

Dear Valb561,
Your unknown orchid is most likely a terete vanda ("papilionanthe teres"). I have two terete vandas! To know exactly what it is, however, you probably have to wait until it blooms. Have fun with your plant.
Hoa.

[ewbie]

yeah! they are thread-like roots so delicate. oh no another type! i'm so confused already on how to take care of them. at first someone gave me 2 vandas and 2 agraecums then when i saw my sister's dendrob i ask her to buy 5 of it and now somebody gave me 4 bulbs of coelogyne(!) all of it NOID.
yikes can i make them all happy? i'm just a beginner. sometimes i'm confused already on which one needs more water or not.
thanks Hoa and Tim for helping me identify! hahaha am going to have a circus here with the orchids. wish me luck and more patience.

[Tanya]

Ewbie, I second, and third the Coelogyne. I bought some myself at the market last time I went to Philippines but didn't bring them to HK with me. Instead I tied them to the trunk of my parent's mango tree. They look exactly like yours.

Val, the others are right, terete Vanda. I would like to add an info that I have read somewhere. They said that Vanda, aside from giving it full sun, only bloom when its about 1 foot taller than its mount.

[catfan]

Papilionanthe teres (syn. Vanda teres) or a cross with it....

http://www.orchidspecies.com/papiteres.htm

Coelogyne on the second one...

[ewbie]

as i was browsing on the net i saw the leaf is similar to coelogyne massangeana or to tomentosa. oh well, will post if(!) it blooms.
thanks to everyone

[bulboking]

hey, that definitely looks like the Stanhopea I have. Though it could be anyone of the group. Mine is Stan inodora. Wire basket with a medium that will stay somewhat damp. Stans. generally prefer indirect sunlight and a lot of water, especially when growing. If the tips of the leaves are turning brown there is too much sun!!!

[mitcholito]

Hi all!
Nope...thats no Stanhopehea! I should guess Coelogyne!

Regards /mikael

[WIS-Thailand]

Hi! The bulbs and the attached leaves do appear to belong to a Coelogyne, but not the Coelogyne mayeriana in linked picture. The flowers pictured comes from a Coelogyne whose rhizomes (which connect the pseudobulbs) are unusually long -- about 1 foot long. I also have a Coelogyne mooreana whose p-bulbs are much closer to each other, and look to be more like the one you have. The flowers, however, are very different -- pure white. Unlike the C. mayeriana, the C. mooreana didn't like the move to Hawaii -- I believe (but I'm not certain) that it prefers intermediate temperatures for both growth and blooming.