My --Stanhopea saccata-- is blooming nicely. The tag says the flowers
smell like cinnamon.

They reek of mothballs to my nose.

BTW, my mother and sister in Apopka, FL are OK. They got over 15
inches of rain, but they are on elevated ground, so they had no
flooding.

J. Del Col

Don't know about the Stanhopea, but I'm glad your family is okay. Many have
had less luck.

Diana

"jadel" wrote in message
...
My --Stanhopea saccata-- is blooming nicely. The tag says the flowers
smell like cinnamon.

They reek of mothballs to my nose.

BTW, my mother and sister in Apopka, FL are OK. They got over 15
inches of rain, but they are on elevated ground, so they had no
flooding.

J. Del Col

Ditto that I'm happy your family is OK. 4 landfalls is a record, no?

As to the stanhopea I've noticed the same thing in cattleyas, that the first
fragarence to hit your nose is sweet then later its either old melons or
mothballs.

I have no idea if the mothball fragarence is particularly attractive to male
euglossine bees. I know Lankersteriana published a few article in Spanish,
but alas I don't read Spanish very well anymore. I *think* Rudolph Jenny
did an article in 'Orchids' a month or two ago, but really, Google is your
friend. Nina Rach from Houston has the Stanhopea pages and a quick email to
her would probably yeild a good response.
http://stanhopea.autrevie.com/stanhopea_saccata.html

Always a good source of knowledge.

K Barrett


"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
.. .
Don't know about the Stanhopea, but I'm glad your family is okay. Many
have had less luck.

Diana

"jadel" wrote in message
...
My --Stanhopea saccata-- is blooming nicely. The tag says the flowers
smell like cinnamon.

They reek of mothballs to my nose.

BTW, my mother and sister in Apopka, FL are OK. They got over 15
inches of rain, but they are on elevated ground, so they had no
flooding.

J. Del Col

On Aug 24, 6:38*pm, "K Barrett" wrote:
Ditto that I'm happy your family is OK. *4 landfalls is a record, no?

As to the stanhopea I've noticed the same thing in cattleyas, that the first
fragarence to hit your nose is sweet then later its either old melons or
mothballs.

I have no idea if the mothball fragarence is particularly attractive to male
euglossine bees. *....

The blooms seem to be extremely attractive to bumblees, so pollinator
bees may be the target for the scent.

Discovered today that Stan. oculata (sp?) is also producing spikes,
along with Coel. massangeana.

J. Del Col

The smell thing may be partially due to your age. Nothing developmental or
anything like that. But way back when I was growing up ladies in the church
had some sort of competition at Easter as to who could be smelled from the
greatest distance. Some wore a whole floral bouquet rather than just a
corsage. The centerpiece was almost always a large fragrant cattleya. For
some that was enough. Others added baby's breath or ferns. Then there were
those who went over-the-top by adding freesias or even a gardenia or two. I
like the fragrance of each but not in combination! I think the cattleya is
the most aquired fragrance to like. It seems to me to be much more complex.
But more importantly, I didn't get to smell them frequently... just when
getting a hug from Grandma or Mom.
Gary

"jadel" wrote in message
...
My --Stanhopea saccata-- is blooming nicely. The tag says the flowers
smell like cinnamon.

They reek of mothballs to my nose.

BTW, my mother and sister in Apopka, FL are OK. They got over 15
inches of rain, but they are on elevated ground, so they had no
flooding.

J. Del Col

On Aug 24, 6:38*pm, "K Barrett" wrote:
Ditto that I'm happy your family is OK. *4 landfalls is a record, no?

As to the stanhopea I've noticed the same thing in cattleyas, that the first
fragarence to hit your nose is sweet then later its either old melons or
mothballs.

I have no idea if the mothball fragarence is particularly attractive to male
euglossine bees. *I know Lankersteriana published a few article in Spanish,
but alas I don't read Spanish very well anymore. *I *think* Rudolph Jenny
did an article in 'Orchids' a month or two ago, but really, Google is your
friend. *Nina Rach from Houston has the Stanhopea pages and a quick email to
her would probably yeild a good response.http://stanhopea.autrevie.com/stanhopea_saccata.html

Thanks for the rederences.

All this has led me to an article about the accidental introduction of
a euglossine bee, --Euglossa viridissima-- into south Florida around
a Ft. Lauderdale butterfly park. The bees have since moved into the
surrounding areas.

The --Stan. saccata-- flowers are gone now, but the other Stanhopea
should open in a few days. I'll try to see what kinds of bees it
attracts. As I posted earlier, the saccata was a big hit with
bumblebees. BTW, I live in West Virginia, so the --Euglossa
viridissima-- won't be putting in an appearance.

J. Del Col