• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Essence of Orchids

Orchid Images, Growing Areas, and Orchid Culture Notes from from the collection of A'na & Paul Satara

  • Orchid Portraits
    • Asian & Pacific Dendrobium
    • Australian Dendrobium
    • Dockrillia
    • Cymbidium
    • Paphiopedilum
    • Brazil Cattleya Alliance
    • More Genera
  • AEO Culture Notes
  • Growing Areas
  • About Us
  • Contact

Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album

January 31, 2020 By A'na Sa'tara

Some growers have wondered whether the album form of Cymbidium tracyanum truly exists … but seeing is believing.  While I had previously found several photographs online, I was still intrigued and wondering what this division would look like when it finally bloomed.  The orchid surely did not disappoint!

While Cymbidium tracyanum is known as an autumn blooming species, this cultivar bloomed in late January, with all flowers in the spike open on February 1st.  This year, the album form followed the bloom of one of our other Cymbidium tracyanum cultivars (“normal” coloratum), which first opened in late December, and was beginning to fade as the album form flowered.

And yes, the album form of Cymbidium tracyanum is fragrant too.

Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album 'Woodside' JC/AOS
Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album ‘Woodside’ JC/AOS

 

Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album 'Woodside' JC/AOS
Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album ‘Woodside’ JC/AOS

 

Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album 'Woodside' JC/AOS
Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album ‘Woodside’ JC/AOS

 

Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album 'Woodside' JC/AOS
Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album ‘Woodside’ JC/AOS

 

Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album 'Woodside' JC/AOS
Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album ‘Woodside’ JC/AOS

 

Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album 'Woodside' JC/AOS
Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album ‘Woodside’ JC/AOS

 

Notice a color difference in the flower below?  This photograph is from the 2020 flowering of the same plant.  I was quite surprised when the blooms opened — much more clear yellow, with a tinge of green.  The previous year flowers (images above) were distinctly straw yellow.  I have been continually surprised by the year-to-year differences in the colors of orchid flowers, and outdoor Cymbidium in particular.

 

Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album 'Woodside' JC/AOS
Cymbidium tracyanum fma. album ‘Woodside’ JC/AOS

 

Cymbidium tracyanum is native to Thailand, Myanmar, and China.  The original pseudobulb from which this plant was grown was reportedly wild-collected in China.  I am only aware of two other album cultivars of Cymbidium tracyanum, one a diploid and the second a 4N clone, both grown by Andy Easton.  The cultivar ‘Woodside’ JC/AOS above is believed to be diploid and originally awarded by Pierre Pujol, a respected Cymbidium grower in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

Interested in more unique and beautiful orchid images?

My vision to create orchid portraits emerged from my appreciation for the “whole orchid.”  So many photographs of orchids focus only on the flower.  But orchids are not flowers: they are entire plants and living beings.  Connect more deeply with the many dimensions of orchids …

more orchid images by A’na Sa’tara
 

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Related Articles & Photographs

  • Cymbidium Ken Siew 'Santa Barbara'
    Cymbidium Ken Siew

    Cymbidium Ken Siew is a great Cymbidium -- one of the new favorites in our…

  • Cymbidium Pywacket 'Heatherrich Hills'
    Cymbidium Pywacket 'Heatherrich Hills'

    Possibly the darkest and richest colors of this grex, Cymbidium Pywacket 'Heatherrich Hills' is a…

  • Cymbidium schroederi

    Cymbidium schroederi is a medium-sized species from Vietnam, found at elevations of 1350-1700m (4500-6600 feet).…

  • Cymbidium tracyanum
    Cymbidium tracyanum

    Cymbidium tracyanum is an ubiquitous orchid in outdoor and cool-growing collections in central California, but…

Filed Under: Cymbidium Tagged With: Cymbidium, orchid images, orchid photo, orchid pictures, orchid portraits, orchid species

Sign up for beauty and great ideas!

Our monthly emails: receive new articles on orchid culture, innovations for growing areas, and beautiful orchid portraits from A’na Sa’tara.  More email info



Footer

A’na & Paul Sa’tara

AEO is a way of seeing and experiencing orchids.  In our eyes, how you perceive your orchids is how you grow them …

HOW WE GROW

Experience more of the Photography of A’na Sa’tara

Images created on the threshold of consciousness and form

SEE CLEAR LIGHT

What’s blooming now?

  • Twitter

Featured Articles …

Growing beyond orchid taxonomy troubles? A new view of species, hybrids, horticulture, and science

Virus testing an (entire) orchid collection for CymMV & ORSV: the surprising results at AEO

Growing orchids under LED lights

More than footcandles and lux: new ways to think about indoor orchid growing with LED lights

Feed the orchids! Details of my fertilizer program for different genera

Orchid Portraits

Cymbidium banaense

Orchid photography by A’na Sa’tara

VIEW THE PHOTOS

Asian & Pacific Dendrobiums
Australian Dendrobiums
Cymbidiums
Dockrillia
Paphiopedilum
Brazil Cattleya Alliance
Other Friendly Genera

 

 

Copyright © 2025