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Species library › Oncidium › Oncidium cruentoides
Orchids Partly documented

Oncidium cruentoides

An Andean cloud-forest orchid from southern Ecuador and northern Peru, described in 1873 as Odontoglossum cruentum. It was renamed when Odontoglossum was merged into Oncidium in 2008, because that name was already taken. Like other former odontoglossums it is a cool grower that needs mild days, cold nights, constant moisture and fresh, humid air.

Oncidium cruentoides
Photo: Orchi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on trees (epiphyte)

Where it grows wild

It grows as an epiphyte in montane cloud forest on the eastern Andean slopes around Loja, Vilcabamba, Yangana and the Nudo de Sabanilla in Ecuador, and around Chachapoyas and Cutervo in Peru. These forests are misty and often in cloud.

Herbarium specimens are from 2000–2700 m, mostly 2200–2550 m. One observation labelled 4 m is a data error.

Southern Ecuador (Loja, Zamora-Chinchipe)Northern Peru (Amazonas, Cajamarca)

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.