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Feature Expedition

Dancing Lady Orchids of Central and South America at the Kew Herbarium

Specimens Royal Botanic Gardens - Kew

Join the party and help us transcribe the Dancing Lady Orchid specimens at the Kew Herbarium! The Oncidium genus has earned the common name Dancing Lady because of the arrangement of their petals, with a dominant petal (the lip) that looks like the skirts of a dress. This dominant lower lip is where the name for the genus derives from: ὀγκος, onkos, the Greek word meaning "swelling”. The flowers form in clusters and gives the appearance of a group of ladies dancing.

Oncidium species are mostly epiphytic (grow on other plants) but can be lithophytic (grow on rocks) or terrestrial (grow in soil). There are around 300 species in the genus, with many growing golden yellow flowers with reddish-brown barring which gives the genus their other common name ‘Tiger orchids’. The flowers can also come in brown, yellow, pink, white and red. The species are native to tropical and subtropical America and usually in seasonally dry areas.

Read about Kew's 2025 Orchid festival, celebrating Peruvian flora and fauna and book tickets to visit!

Read this blog about the wonderful world of orchids!

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Field notes Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia

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Specimens Royal Botanic Gardens - Kew

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Camera Traps Bush Heritage Australia - South East NSW Priority Landscape

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