Coelogyne mooreana is known as 'The Queen of Coelogynes'. There is no more appropriate title. The big, upright, pristine white flowers with their glowing orange markings are a beauty to behold. As one of the 'big whites' it is one of the earliest of any orchids to collect, let alone one of the earliest Coelogynes.

It is a fairly big plant and its 4 to 8 simultaneously opening, big flowers are very well displayed which all makes for a beautiful specimen plant. The flowers can have a beautiful perfume and last well. Additionally, the plant will often flower more than once a year.

It is a very adaptable and easy to grow and flower orchid from around 1300 metres in Vietnam. Wilhelm Micholitz collected this plant for the famous British Nursery, Sanders and Sons in 1904. Micholitz was later honoured with a beautiful hybrid in his name using Coelogyne mooreana x Coelogyne lawrenceana.

Coelogyne mooreana will flourish in any protected area as long as it does not experience frost and has high humidity.

Negatives: On odd occasions a plant may be reluctant to flower. This can generally be remedied by moving it to a different spot for a season and checking the watering and humidity.

Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦  Nobody could be disappointed with this impressive orchid.

Varieties: A desirable one is tagged as 'Brockhurst' which has larger flowers and more yellow markings. 'Westonbirt' is another tagged example. A number of others have 'award letters' after their name. Assuming the label is accurate, it is always advisable with any orchid to buy an awarded one. A superior orchid takes the same space and the same amount of work as a lesser quality plant but the reward is always greater.

I have a specimen with the tag '4N' added to the name. This indicates that it has double the normal number of chromosones which will be reflected in extra thickness of the flower petals, greater robustness, etc. With no access to DNA facilities, I have no idea if it really is 4N but it certainly flowers more frequently.

Registered Hybrids: Being the 'Queen' it is not surprising that this has been used extensively in hybridising. A lucky aspect is that its genes are very dominant and carry through strongly to off-spring.

  1.  Coelogyne Edward Pearce (R Pearce,1995) - using Coelogyne fragrans as the pod parent.
  2.  Coelogyne Beryl Read (Dennis Read, 2008) - using Coelogyne mooreana 'Westonbirt' with Coelogyne salmonicolor as the pod parent.
  3.  Coelogyne Jannine Banks (Spence/Banks, 1995) - using Coelogyne flaccida as the pollen parent.
  4.  Coelogyne Joel Strandberg (Jennifer Ritchie, 2006- - using Coelogyne confusa as the pod parent.
  5.  Coelogyne John Leathers (Robert Hamilton, 2009) - using Coelogyne corymbosa as the pod parent.
  6.  Coelogyne Keith Spence (Phil Spence, 2009) - using Coelogyne Andree Millar as the pod parent.
  7.  Coelogyne Linda Buckley (R Hull, 1989) - using Coelogyne cristata as the pollen parent.
  8.  Coelogyne Memoria Louis Forget (Dr P N Sander, 1994) - using Coelogyne speciosa as the pod parent.
  9.  Coelogyne Memoria Wilhelm Micholitz (Sander and Sons, 1950) - using Coelogyne lawrenceana as the pod parent
  10.  Coelogyne Kirribilli Sarah Jean (Kevin Dawes, 2014) using Coelogyne ovalis as the pollen parent.
  11.  Coelogyne Kirribilli Marie (Kevin Dawes, 2013) - using Coelogyne usitana 'Golden Gate' as the pollen parent.
  12.  Coelogyne Kirribilli Ellen (Kevin Dawes 2014) using Coelogyne assamica as the pollen parent.
  13.  Coelogyne Andrew Banks (David Banks 2015) using Coelogyne stricta as the pod parent.
  14.  Coelogyne Lynette Banks (David Banks 2015) using Coelogyne Memoria Wilhelm Micholitz as the pod parent.
  15.  Coelogyne Rachael Banks (David Banks 2015 using Coelogyne Memoria Louis Forget as the pod parent.
  16.  Coelogyne Kirribilli Gillian (Kevin Dawes 2015) using Coelogyne huettneriana as the pollen parent.
  17. Coelogyne Kirribilli Charlie (Kevin Dawes 2016) using Coelogyne Amber as the pollen parent.
  18. Coelogyne Kirribilli Megan (Kevin Dawes 2016) using Coelogyne marmorata as the pollen parent.
  19. Coelogyne Kirribilli Stephanie (Kevin Dawes 2016) using Coelogyne brachyptera as the pollen parent.
  20.  Coelogyne Kirribilli Jimmy (Kevin Dawes 2019) using Coelogyne calcicola as the pod parent.
  21. Coelogyne Kirribilli Janet Dixon-Smith (Kevin Dawes 2018) using Coelogyne celebensis as the pollen parent,

Secondary Hybrids:

1. Coelogyne Kirribilli Colin (Kevin Dawes 2016) using Coelogyne Mem Wilhelm Micholitz (Coelogyne mooreana Coelogyne lawrenceana) x Coelogyne usitana 'Golden Gate'

2. Coelogyne Kirribilli Jennifer O'Brien (Kevin Dawes 2017) using Coelogyne mooreana 'Brockhurst' x Coelogyne Unchained Melody 'Mossiae' aka ('Alba')

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