DBKU Orchid Garden, Kuching - Part 1 - Oncidium (the Dancing Lady) 01

We have visited DBKU Orchid Garden in Kuching, Malaysia next to the new Sarawak’s DUN today.  I am going to show you a series of orchid photos that I took there.

This is the only type of orchid that I know how to identify its genus name.  It is called Oncidium.  There are 330 species of orchids under this genus, and this dancing ladies orchid is only one of the diverse Oncidium orchids.  The flowers have out-of-proportionally big lips that look like the skirt of evening gowns.  Look carefully again, each flower looks like a lady wearing yellow gowns dancing with opened arms.  Besides having the name “Dancing Lady“, this flower is also called “Golden Shower“.

I have dancing lady orchid in my home garden too, but it is the most common species.  The twin dancing ladies in the first picture above look like the most common species, but they have bigger sizes.

DBKU Orchid Garden, Kuching - Part 1 - Oncidium (the Dancing Lady) 02
This dancing lady has brown arms instead of dotted arm compared to the first dancing lady above.

DBKU Orchid Garden, Kuching - Part 1 - Oncidium (the Dancing Lady) 03
Another yellow Oncidium with only a little bit of brown.

DBKU Orchid Garden, Kuching - Part 1 - Oncidium (the Dancing Lady) 04
I was surprised because this was the first time I saw a dancing lady with colour other than yellow.  It is in light yellow and this combination makes the brown looks darker.

DBKU Orchid Garden, Kuching - Part 1 - Oncidium (the Dancing Lady) 05
Another light yellow dancing lady with brown tattoo on most part of its body.

DBKU Orchid Garden, Kuching - Part 1 - Oncidium (the Dancing Lady) 06
Yes, this is the most common type of yellow dancing lady that is the same with the one in my home garden.  It is similar to the first picture above but it is smaller.

I have also seen the orange dancing lady in this orchid garden, but I do not have a good photo of it.

DBKU Orchid Garden, Kuching - Part 1 - Oncidium (the Dancing Lady) 07
The tree-shaped wood covered with dried grass allow the orchid to grow on the trunk.

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I still have a lot of orchid photos to show you, but I do not know how to categorized them.  Therefore I have decided to use my own way to categorize them - by their colour.  :P  Please tell me if you know their species name or if I have mentioned the genus or species name wrongly.

I have also learned about Vanda orchid and Phalaenopsis orchid (Butterfly orchid in Chinese), but I cannot differentiate them by only looking at their flower.  If I have included the shapes of the leaves in some of my photos, then I might be able to differentiate them.

From Wikipedia, there is an Intergeneric hybrids of  Vanda orchid and Phalaenopsis orchid called Vandaenopsis.  It adds more difficulty to identify and differentiate it.  Hmm…  I am not a botanist…