My phal seems to have produced a single flower that has two centers. I’ve never seen this before.

by Fast-Director-1503

14 Comments

  1. TuxedoEnthusiast

    Def a mutation! I’ve seen peloric phals that have 3 lips, but this is something else. How neat!! It’s like viewing a flower through a kaleidoscope.

  2. donotlookatdiagram

    Seems like an anatomical irregularity that caused two flowers to grow in the space of one. What does the part connecting the flower to the spike look like? Does the spike itself look unusual?

    Orchids are monocots, and they grow flower parts singly or in multiples of three- growing a part in pairs as a result of a genetic mutation would be highly unusual and would likely also change other things about the plant.

  3. Fasciation/cresting of the spike or bud meristem resulted in conjoined flowers. It’s rare, but something that happens occasionally. I wouldn’t count on it happening again, so enjoy it while it lasts!

  4. OpinionatedOcelotYo

    They’re gonna love this at r/fasciation

  5. Suspicious-Doughnut-

    One of the coolest peloric phals I’ve ever seen!

  6. Blackwater-zombie

    I’ve only had that happen once in my collection. A pleasant surprise. Your plant made an impressive specimen, thanks for sharing.

  7. Commanderkins

    Oh this is so cool! I’ve got a ton of perennials and every once in a while I’ll get a couple that do something weird. But mostly it is the Shasta daisy’s, Delphiniums and Rhudbekia(bi-annual) that have a mutated stem and flower that appear to have fused two or sometimes three stems and then the flower head is also larger and obscure. The stems are always very thick and also flat.

    Your orchid does not look like two stems joined into one. This looks like something different but very cool! You should preserve the flower in resin.

  8. Lemoncatnipcupcake

    I don’t think this is a fascination mutation like some are saying but closer to a double petal or double flower mutation. I haven’t seen it in orchids before!

Pin