Your orchid has a mutation! I do not know what caused it.

Will it revert to normal? Probably not!

Two petals have mutated to be extra lips. Tecko word = labellums.

Google Peloric Phalaenopsis and look at the images.

Here is a link to another discussion where i wandered off topic a little.

Previous discussion

Thank you arthurm and palmsandsnow. It has 6 petals, and in the beginning it was flowering as a normal phal, but for the past 2 years it has bloomed ( 2 spikes) filled with flowers and all the flowers are lke this now. They all have 6 petals

Yay! I was right! Anyway, what I would do is just put it in a separate collection for special plants. Lol just kidding! I would just keep it, and see what happens!

Thank you palmsandsnow for your time and help. My worry was that I thought my orchid has gone berzerk and was getting ready to die.!!!

I'd bet dollars to donuts that that is a Baldan's Kaleidoscope, which is known for throwing peloric flowers. If it bloomed normally before, who knows what the next bloom cycle may hold. Be fun to hold onto it just to see.

On a side note, I've seen where they are actually breeding these peloric phals to look like a Lycaste Lycaste Images. I'm not so sure, I guess I'd just as soon grow an actual Lycaste - if I could :)

Good luck,

Bob

I have this same orchid that was bought for me at Christmas this year. It has exactly the same blooms as yours and as stated above it is a Baldan's Kaleidoscope, according to what is stamped on my plastic pot.

Bob, i think you are on the money with the name.

Just a bit more useless info.......

The collective word for sepals and petals is Tepals. The Phalaenopsis orchid has three sepals and three petals. Google the University of Google for more info.

Yes, if growing conditions are the reason for the change perhaps it will revert to normal.

Oh, thank you arthurm for that information! I guess I should have specified that I meant tepals, but I think dankhara got the message.

Thank you all for your help and information. I am learning so much from your advices.!!

I didn't think it would be possible to develop a mutation. Wouldn't that have to happen to the DNA when the plant was only a single cell?

Well, as you probably know, cancer is mutated cells performing mitosis uncontrolled to produce many more inept cells. The human body has mechanisms for killing off these mutated cells, but I am not sure about plants. But surely plants could also mutate too?

What an interesting thread! I absolutely love my peloric orchid. It has the most wonderful floral cinnamon smell. I used to think that the blooms simply failed to open all the way, but I did some research and learned why it looked that way. I think you could study orchids for the rest of your life and not know everything there is to know about them.

I just stumbled across this on Norman's site, looks very similar...

Baldans Kaleidoscope - Lycastanopsis

Bob

More trivia! I wonder what would happen if you took your Phalaenopsis Baldan's Kaleidoscope 'Lycastanopsis" along to a meeting or orchid show to be judged.

The Judging panel might decide to ignore said orchid because the flower shape is nothing like that set out in the standard for Phalaenopsis.

On the other hand, they might decide that the orchid has beauty and appeal and use "appreciation" to judge the plant.

I hasten to add that I am not an orchid judge.