Conjoined Twinning in Orchids - Orchids-World

Conjoined Twinning in Orchids
Six months ago, mid 2012, I reported the existence of two individual
stems/pseudo-bulbs developing contemporaneously but not conjoined from one
“bud”/“lead” in a cattleya hybrid. Numerous other orchid growers have now
confirmed this.
Today, I report for the first time ever the existence of conjoined twin in orchids.
The orchid is a Cattlianthe: Cattlianthe (Ctt) Duckitt Ruby
Conjoined twins is a rare and fascinating malformation observed not only in
humans but also in most warm and colt blooded animals, like mammals, fishes,
birds, reptiles, etc; to my knowledge, it has never been observed or reported in
plants, this is the first time.
This malformation was noticed accidently six months ago, when the new lead/
shoot grew in a horseshoe shape rather than straight up as it is normally expected.
I knew that something was out of place and I separate the plant to follow its
progress.
Over the following two months the stem/pseudo-bulb/bract, as it grew,
changed its shape numerous times but always remained curved.
The third month, the stem showed a vertical “division” into two conjoined
“stems” (Photo 1), clearly indicating that something extraordinary was taking
place.
Photo 1. Conjoined twin stems/pseudo-bulbs.
Two months later, each of the conjoined twin stems, produced it’s own
‘bract”. (Photo 2).

Photo 2. Conjoined twin bract (like a snake or lizard with two heads.)
Photo 3. The two clearly separated bracts each with it’s own sheath.

I realized that I was witnessing for the first time the development of a
conjoined twin in a plant, an orchid in this case.
The reasons behind the continuously shape changing of the “bract”, became
also clear. It was obvious that the two conjoined “stems”, although both were
growing contemporaneously, they were competing against each other, as both were
in many ways independent. It is not different to a snake, lizard or mammal forming
two heads on one single body.
Today, six months, each bract has it’s own final growth and sheath and
should, theoretically at least, given time produce a flower. The union, in this case,
is symmetrical and the conjoined bracts are equal.
TWO WEEKS LATER
A picture = 1000 words.