This is an unusual hybrid and not one that a breeder would normally plan. In my glasshouse Coelogyne flexuosa has always been a cute little orchid with a quaint little spray of upright, ever present white flowers. Its second notable feature was that it always seemed to carry several pollinated pods.  I made one hybrid with it using Coelogyne bilamellata (Coelogyne Kirribilli Noela) but simply because Coelogyne speciosa was in flower at the same time I fertilized the two on 24th December 2008. While the pod developed normally and the seed was flasked on 13th October 2009, the protocorms were weak developers and those that were deflasked on 10th February 2011 continued their weak growth. It wasn’t until June 2019 that the first seedling flowered (over 10 years later!)

The hybrid has a large 10 cm conical psuedobulb similar to Coelogyne flexuosa. Other maternal traits to carry through include the very upright spray of three to four almost simultaneously flowers on a zig-zag flower stem.

In all other aspects, this hybrid flower resembles a smaller version (4cm) of Coelogyne speciosa. The white (and yellow throat spot of Coelogyne flexuosa has been totally dominated by the normal brown and green colours of Coelogyne speciosa.

I have named this hybrid after my son’s step-son.

Rating: ♦♦♦

Registration: Registration with the RHS as Coelogyne Kirribilli Ezekiel completed June 2019. It has been named after Nigel's step-son Ezekiel.

Varieties: None known.

Hybrids: None registered

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