Tuesday, May 21st, 2024
OSMT Meeting in person at Cheekwood Botanic Gardens – Massey Hall/Auditorium (Zoom/Online will be available)

7 pm CST: “Catasetum” — Marie Hammon (OSMT Vice President) —

Marie S. Hammond has had a long interest in flowers and plants which was inherited from her maternal grandfather who specialized in growing and breeding dahlias. She started raising roses from cuttings in 9th grade and perpetuated a number of old rose cultivar while in high school. Most recently she tried her hand at orchids, starting with a “Lowe’s clearance rack” Phalaenopses. While she expanded her apartment-based collection to 163 orchids of various types, she has been concentrating her efforts on Paphiopedilums, varieties of Catasetenae, and on assisting the society in raising orchids from Alice Jensen’s greenhouses.

For those who have not delved into this genus yet, Catasetum is a genus of tropical American epiphytic orchids having showy male and female flowers usually on separate inflorescences. Catasetum type orchids are a very unique group of orchids (Wyatt, 2023). This group contains 4 separate genera Catasetum, Clowesia, Mormodes, and Cycnoches and all their hybrids. Native to Central America to South America they are used to tropical climates with a defined wet-dry season.