Back in 2006, we visited Disney's The Animal Kingdom and spent a day photographing both the animals and the flowers as part of EPCOT's Flower & Garden Festival. It was a great day and I have some of my favorite images from that day in several books.

One of my favorite floral shots is this one:



It's my favorite for a lot of reasons not the least of which is how incredibly cool it looks. But I took it with an inexpensive Sigma 28-80 F4-F5.6 Macro Zoom lens which allowed me to get pretty close but was generally not very sharp at all. Now, for this shot, that was OK because the parts that I wanted to be sharp are and the parts I wanted to be soft are delightfully soft and diffused. Not a great lens but it worked perfectly for this image. However, I am having difficulty actually identifying the Orchid. Based on my research, I'm leaning towards Bakerara Everglades Hunter "Swamp Buggy" although my second choice is Brassidium Wild Warrior "Chieftain". For you botanical geniuses on this list: can you help me out here? I'd like to know for sure what this lovely flower is called.

TIA,

Jim

Hey Jim,

I am not 100% sure before - I know I have seen orchids like this one. I THINK it is a cymbidium orchid. There are a lot in that particular genus - but it looks right.

James

James,
one of my FaceBook friends suggested that it was an Oncidium orchid, probably Oncidium Aureum and I've found a particular flower called Oncidium Jungle Monarch which appears to be a perfect match.

Thanks for your help.

Jim

I had no idea, there were SO many orchid varieties, til I went to look for this particular one. So of the two you've chosen, I am leaning towards your second one (Brassidium Wild Warrior "Chieftain")...it seems pretty spot on, from the photos of them, I was able to find. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Lovely orchid.

Terrie