Cymbidium ensifolium '市長紅'/'Shi Zhang Hong'

This Cymbidium ensifolium cultivar was a recent pick-up from Redland. Easy grower and is supposed to be heat tolerant, although it probably will not survive the 100F Davis heat if grown outdoors. This plant did not mind the repotting at all, and what I thought were growths turned out to be two spikes, each carrying six flowers. The blooms are very fragrant and fills the room with its distinctive fragrance, oddly reminiscent of Pledge lemon furniture polish.

The distribution of this species is quite widespread, reported to be found throughout Asia, with some accounts from Borneo. Along with Phalaneopsis amabilis, Cymbidium ensifolium was also described in Species Plantarum by Linnaeus in 1753 (Ned Nash, Orchids September 1996) and was already well known during time of Confucius (500 BC). In fact, the Chinese word for orchids, 蘭花, is synonymous with Cymbidium ensifolium, which attests to the historical appreciation of this species.

Cymbidium ensifolium '市長紅'