You can find this post here on my new site for the full post and to leave comments.
I saw this image at the AOS home page (it's not there anymore, hasn't been for a long time now) and the only other site I found any picture of this form has made it impossible to link even to the page the picture is on and has made it pretty clear he doesn't want people to look at it (hint - Google image search the name exactly as it appears in the title).
It is the result of a cross between P. Berenece & P. lowii which apparently scored a 78 (80-89 inclusive out of 100 would have made it an AM/AOS (Award of Merit/American Orchid Society vs Highly Commended Certificate - See here for more on AOS awards)) and was named "Elektra."
Paph. Winged Flight is a simultaneous multifloral, which is pretty self explanatory - multiple blooms all open at the same time. These can put on a fantastic show though a sequential may last longer (at the expense of each individual flower not lasting as long).
I'm mostly using 'Elektra' as an example here - It's a fantastic looking Paphiopedilum But it's not the only really nice looking Paph. Yes I would like to have an 'Elektra' but it's more the idea that I love.
Paph. Michael Koopowitz 'Norma' HCC/AOS is a good example of a very dramatic simultaneous multifloral Paph that's also been awarded.
Many of the most dramatic Paphs also happen to be Simultaneous bloomers. I like the horizontal petals on Paphiopedilum Winged Flight a lot though the long twisted petals of P. Mount Sander (for example) are undeniably stunning as well. Both the horizontal and vertical petals give a very graceful very formal look to the flowers and really on any given day I might prefer one or the other.
I suppose what I'm getting at is that there are a lot of really cool Paphiopedilum cultivars and I don't have any of them. A good Paph is a pricey Paph, my collection will not grow fast but a Paphiopedilum that will send up multiple spikes each year each with multiple blooms (or even just a single spike with multiple blooms) is a Paph worth buying.
I must check into these. I just went to the Botanic Garden here in DC for the first time, because there is a special orchid show on right now. The first orchid I spotted was a Paph and had twisted petals that were (I now realize) quite small. It was one of very few orchids that I actually photographed. Not many of them do it for me, which I guess is a good thing--I don't think I can afford an orchid addiction.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Elektra was nice but that Mount Sander is amazing! We have Paphiopedilum in the greenhouses but nothing this nice. Is it "lium" or "ilum"?
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it's "ilum"
ReplyDeleteFeewwww. I was worried I'd have to go back and rename a bunch of photos... I can't get over how great that Mount Sanders looks. I just sat through a Ke$ha blah blah blah video and really regret the last few minutes of my life.
ReplyDeleteFortunately I seem to have only had it misspelled in four posts, all my pictures were tagged right.
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