A summary for buibui KH

"The name of an orchid consists of two parts, its genus and its epithet. Using the name of the world's largest orchid species, Grammatophyllum speciosum, as an example, Grammatophyllum is the genus and speciosum is the epithet. The term 'genus' is used by taxonomists to indicate a certain group of orchids which share some common characteristics. Usually there is more than one member in a genus, and each of these members has its own epithet. When the name of a species is written, the genus always begins with a capital letter, whereas the epithet is always written in small letters. Both genus and epithet should be either underlined or italicised. When there are several varieties of one species, the varietal names are italicised if they are naturally occurring varieties; e.g., the alba variety of Vanda teres is written as Vanda teres var. alba.

Hybrids have names, too. Each hybrid has a genus name and a grex (or group) name. All sibling of a hybrid share the same grex name. Like a species name, the genus always begins with a capital letter and so does the grex name, as in the National Flower of Singapore Vanda Miss Joaquim. A hybrid made by using different varieties of the parents is considered a variety of the first registered hybrid. It is given a variety name which begins with a capital letter, placed between two open-inverted commas, after the grex name. For example, the original Vanda Miss Joaquim resulted from a cross between two species, Vanda teres and Vanda hookeriana. Later the cross was repeated by using the 'alba' variety of the two species. The result was a white Vanda Miss Joaquim. This white Vanda Miss Joaquim was given a variety name 'John Laycock':

Vanda teres var. alba × Vanda hookeriana var. alba = Vanda Miss Joaquim 'John Laycock'

Similarly, when a particular orchids plant receives an award, a variety name is given. For example, when the Orchid Society of South East Asia awarded a High Recommendation Certificate (H.C.C.) to a particular plant of Aranda Majula, a variety name 'Rimau' was given to that plant. Since receiving the award, that particular Aranda Majula is now Aranda Majula 'Rimau'.

If a hybrid is the result of a cross between members of two genera, the hybrid is given a new genus name. Usually the new genus is made up of parts of the parental genus names. For example, when Arachnis hookeriana was crossed with Vanda tricolor, the hybrid was named Aranda Lucy Laycock. When a hybrid consists of three or more genera, a completely new genus name that is unrelated to the parental genera will be given and the name will end with the three letters '-ara'. A good example of this cross would be Mokara, an artificial genus which consists of three genera: Arachnis, Vanda, and Ascocentrum.

Each registered hybrid has two named parents. For example, Arachnis Ishbel is the progeny of Arachnis hookeriana and Arachnis maingayii. The relationship between the hybrid and its parents can be expressed in the following way:

Arachnis Ishbel (Arachnis hookeriana × Arachnis maingayii)

This designation shows that Arachnis Ishbel is the progeny of Arachnis hookeriana and Arachnis maingayii. Arachnis hookeriana, which is written first, is the female or seed-bearing parent; Arachnis maingayii, which appears next, is the male or the pollen-giving parent.

Since the birth of the first orchid hybrid, Calanthe Dominyi, in 1856, the world's orchid breeders have produced more than 100,000 registered or named hybrids. After a hybrid is made, the breeder can make known to the world his new creation by submitting a completed registration form to the International Registration Authority for Orchid Hybrids in England. Registration helps to reduce the potential confusion in the naming of plants by giving a unique name to the progeny from two registered parents. Information about the registered orchid hybrid is published in the Sander's List of Orchid Hybrids, now available in electronic form through the RHS Orchid Information System."

- Orchids of the Singapore Botanic Gardens posted by SemenCheng

Noob edition:

Species:

Name is fully italicised with the genus name capitalised and the epithet or species name small caps.- e.g. Paphiopedilum stonei. This shows that the plant is "pure" (as defined by the other plant communities who call themselves "purists")

Same species X same species = same species

Different species X different species = primary hybrid

Species X hybrid = hybrid

Hybrid X hybrid = hybrid

Same Hybrid X same Hybrid = same hybrid

Varieties:

Varieties of orchids come in 2 forms: the natural occuring variety and the cultivated variety. The natural occuring varieties usually comes in different colour forms or different sizes of plants. E.g. Laelia rubescens var. alba and Laelia rubescens var aurea. Notice that the "var." is not italicised.

Cultivated varieties or cultivars are names a breeder or collector gives to his/her plants to differentiate them from the other plants of the same species or hybrid. These may be plants of superior quality or have some sentiment value attached. These plants may or may not be awarded but all awarded plants can be given a cultivar (NB - not all good plants are awarded and neither are all awarded plants are necessarily good). This names are usually the last component of a plant's name and is in single quotes (''). E.g. Fredclarkeara After Dark 'Sunset Valley Orchids'

Hybrid names:

Can be anything under the sun as long as they follow the rules of the registrar in Handbook on Orchid Nomenclature and Registration. These names can range from Sogo Cock to Stone Addict as long as they follow the word limit (sorry can't remember).

But it is good to note that every progeny of a hybrid will not carry the same cultivar unless they are mericloned. I.e.:

Not every Mormodia Painted Desert X Catesetum Donna Wise = Fredclarkeara After Dark 'Sunset Valley Orchids'

However, the reverse is true.

Another good link to read