One of the first things a novice orchid grower will come across is a myriad of strange names on plant labels. These names are often strange looking and sometimes even stranger sounding. Once you understand just a little about the names and where they come from and how they are used, the fear of these names will disappear almost overnight. Pronouncing some of them may take a little practice, but that is also an easy thing to overcome.
First of all, orchid names are assigned according to the binomial (two names) system. This is to say that each orchid has two names. This is the same as your own name except it is written as though it were listed in a phone book (i.e., last name, first name). Your name would appear in the phone book as "Smith, John". An orchid's name would appear as Cattleya Portia. The first name listed (Cattleya) is the genus name and refers to a very large group of orchids that are closely related (just like members of your family with the same last name). The second name listed (Portia) is the species name or hybrid name. This name refers to a very specific grex within the genus (just like your given name). It distinguishes it from all of the others in the same genus. Using these names and this binomial system, we can communicate among ourselves and understand which orchid we are referring.
From time to time we will see additions to the name. These are usually varietal names. These refer to a variety or a sub-group within a species that is uniquely different as a whole from the others but not so much as to warrant a classification as a separate species. An example would be Cattleya bicolor var. alba. There may be several varieties within a species. These are always written with the abbreviation var. to designate a variety. These varieties are usually recognized by authorities as a valid part of the official name and are registered as such.
Another name often seen is a clonal name. This name is not part of the official name of the plant but is a system used to designate the difference between one clone of a cross (grex) and all of the other clones of the same cross. It is a type of nickname. This name is given to a plant by the original owner of the plant if it is ever divided, meristemed, or given any type of award. Divisions or meristems of the plant will carry the clonal name. An example might be Cattleya bicolor `Big Lip'. You should note that the clonal name appears in single quotes to designate the fact that it is a clonal name.
As a summary, a typical name might look like:
Cattleya - genusIt would be written thus:bicolor - species
var. alba - variety
'Big Lip' - clonal name
Cattleya bicolor var. alba 'Big Lip'The genus name always starts with a capital or is abbreviated with a capital letter. The species name always starts with a small letter (there are a few exceptions to this). If the plant is a hybrid, the hybrid name will start with a capital letter. In this way, you should be able to look at a plant tag and see at a glance if it is a species or a hybrid. An example of these would be:
Species = Onc. triquetrum (Onc. is the abbreviation for Oncidium)As mentioned earlier, the genus part of the name is often abbreviated in order to save time and space. Each genus has an official abbreviation and these are easily recognized. For example, Cattleya is abbreviated C. Other genera (plural for genus) have similar abbreviations such as Brassavola (B.), Laelia (L.) and Sophronitis (S.). These few examples refer to species or pure strains of hybrids within the genus.Hybrid = Onc. Golden Sunset
In many cases hybrids are produced by using two or more genera such as a Cattleya and a Laelia. This hybrid would be called a Laeliocattleya and is abbreviated as Lc. Many other combinations are possible (using the above mentioned genera) such as Slc., Sc., Sl., etc.
After a while three or more names can become confusing when naming a new hybrid genus (i.e., Sophrolaeliocattleya!). A new name is often given to these complex hybrids using the last name of the person who first registers the new genus and then adding the Latin ending "ara" to the name (i.e., Smithara). For example, when you cross a Brassavola (B.) to a Laelia (L.) and a Sophronitis (S.) and a Cattleya (C.) you get a hybrid with four genera in the background. The new name for this genus is Potinara.
Most complex hybrids fall into a few well-known genera, both simple and complex, and in time you will start to recognize what they are. There are others that are more obscure such as Hasegawaara. These you might want to look up in order to research their background. But the most important thing to remember is that you shouldn't be afraid of the names. The following are just a few examples of genera found in the Cattleya alliance:
C. = CattleyaB. = Brassavola
L. = Laelia
S. = Sophronitis
Bc. = Brassocattleya
Bl. = Brassolaelia
Blc. = Brassolaeliocattleya
Lc. = Laeliocattleya
Sl. = Sophrolaelia
Sc. = Sophrocattleya
Slc. = Sophrolaeliocattleya
Pot. = Potinara (C. + B. + L. + S.)
Along with the name of the plant and its clonal name, there often appears a series of initials (AM/AOS, etc.). These initials are award designations. Some of the most often seen award designations are:
QUALITY AWARDS:
HCC Highly Commended Certificate (75 to 79 points)
AM Award of Merit (80 to 89 points)
FCC First Class Certificate (90 to 100 points)
OTHER AWARDS:
JC Judges Commendation (for some outstanding feature)
CCM Certificate of Cultural Merit (awarded to individual grower for culture)
CBR Certificate of Botanical Recognition (awarded for rarity, novelty, and educational value.)
Other awards are given, but the above are the ones most often seen. For additional information on awards, refer to the American Orchid Society's Handbook on Judging and Exhibition.
THE AMERICAN ORCHID SOCIETY
The American Orchid Society is made up of the combined membership of orchid societies across the United States and its territories. The AOS has many facets to its purpose, and judging orchids is one of the most fascinating of these. There are twenty-seven judging locations across the U.S. Each of these judging centers is staffed by carefully trained orchid judges. These few individuals give their time freely to evaluate orchids on a monthly basis at these judging centers. The official designation for an American Orchid Society award is XXX/AOS (the X's representing the particular award).
Other awarding bodies throughout the world are:
RHS Royal Horticulture Society - England
HOS Hawaiian Orchid Society
WOC World Orchid Conference
PLANT LABELS
When purchasing an orchid, it is always wise to purchase one with a name tag in the plant. These name tags can tell you a lot about the plant. For example:
C. guttataThis label is the simplest one of all. It is for a species Cattleya called guttata. We know this because the C. stands for Cattleya and guttata is started with a small "g". So reading the label automatically tells us we are looking at a species Cattleya called guttata.
C. guttata var. albaIn this example, we have the same genus and species, but with the added var. alba. This is a particular variety of the same species called "alba" (which refers to the fact that there is a lack of color in the bloom; often white). There may be many clones of this variety of this species.
C. guttata var. alba `Snow White' HCC/AOS (this is NOT a real awarded plant...example only)This example shows the label of a specific clone of our species. This is:
Cattleya guttata var. alba `Snow White' HCC/AOS.This label gives us the official name, the varietal name and its clonal name of `Snow White' given to it because it also carries an AOS award of an HCC.
The previous examples were all for orchid species. Since a large number of hybrids are now available, the labels of these are vital to keep track of just what is what. The same basic facts hold true for these that are used for species.
C. guttata X B. nodosaThis tag represents the cross of two species of different genera. The way the name is written expresses this fact. It appears from the label that the cross has not been named since only the parents are given. But a quick look into the list of registered hybrids tells us a little more.
Bc. Nodata (C. guttata X B. nodosa)This hybrid has been registered and is call Bc. Nodata. You will notice that the hybrid name is given first and the hybrid name is started with a capital letter. The names of the parents follow, inside parentheses. The names of the parents are not always given on the label, but is sure nice when they are. Another example of this would be:
Slc. Wendy's Valentine 'June', HCC/AOSFrom this label we can deduce the plant is a hybrid using three genera (Slc.)
and it has been registered with the RHS in England.
It has a clonal name of 'June'
and has been awarded a HCC
from the AOS.Please remember that orchid labels are like your birth certificate. It is not required to produce a pretty bloom, but it is nice to know what the family tree for that plant is. Please do not throw them away because they are ugly. If you don't like the look of one stuck in the plant, just push it down into the pot. A plant without a label is just another orphan orchid without a past or a future. It will only be a pretty bloom among all of the other orchids with names.
