This week’s Orchid of the Week is… Cym. Wallamurra
Parentage: This is a cross between Cym. Warella × Cym. Terama
Registered: 1981
The reason why it’s our Orchid of the Week:
Cym. Wallamurra is a flower you won’t forget, nor will you ever likely confuse it with anything else! The lip design on Cym Wallamurra is striking to say the least, and not something you will find on most other Cym flowers. It’s an oldie, registered by Wondabah in New South Wales, who are now unfortunately not is existence. Wondabah registered a number of really great Cyms whilst they were about, however, Gordon Giles, who’s family owned Wondabah, is still producing some fantastic crosses and is well known for Cym. Regal Flame ‘Queen of Hearts’, a previous Orchid of the Week.
Cym. Wallamurra is a gorgeous flower and with a nice shade of red in the petals, something that will create a real point of difference in your collection. It won an Award of Merit from the Australian Orchid Council when first released. The above photo of Cym. Wallamurra ‘Jupiter’ is the most popular and available varietal. The above photo was sourced from the Launceston Orchid Society Facebook page.
Cym. Wallamurra has some good genes, having Cym. Sensation in the background, another previous Orchid of the Week, as well as other well known plants.
Other variants
There is also a mutated splash petal version – Cym. Wallamurra ‘Ninja’ which is also a wonderful sight in flower. It is a lot harder to get hold of though!
I used to have both ‘Jupiter’ and ‘Ninja’ in my collection until ORSV infected them and they had to be destroyed. I’d love to replace both of them though if anyone has a piece they would be willing to let go of!
This image was borrowed from the Orchid Roots website and taken by one of the members of the Cymbidium Orchids Australia Facebook page, and a very accomplished grower with some wonderful specimens!
Looking back at the original species ancestors of this plant, using Orchid Roots, Cym. insigne, Cym. tracyanum, Cym lowianum var. kalawense (or Cym. i’ansonii as it’s also known by) and Cym. lowianum are the major contributors present in the distant background.