Even though I have used the term peloric or peloria for many years, I did not consider it as anything other than a "mutation". This thread prompted me to find a better definition and the following I found in my web search.
Peloric (petals)
Relates to a flower with a radially symmetrical arrangement of perianth members (sepals and petals of a flower considered together), while the species normally has an asymmetrical arrangement. In orchids, the labellum (lip) is considered the "asymmetrical arrangement" and therefore peloria in the petals would fit this definition.
Semi-peloric (sepals)
Describing a flower in which the abnormal perianth members (sepals and petals) give a misleading appearance of being peloric. As an example, in the semi-peloric Bee Orchid the labellum (lip) resembles the sepals. If it were truly peloric it would resemble the upper petals.
References:
Floral symmetry refers to whether, and how, a flower can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peloric
Having a mutation such that a normally asymmetric flower becomes radially symmetric
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peloric
Relates to a flower with a radially symmetrical arrangement of perianth members, while the species normally has an asymmetrical arrangement.
Home: Britain's Orchids
A term coined by Darwin to describe a mutant flower that has many planes of reflectional symmetry.
Perspectives glossary
Hope this goes a little way in clarifying the term for all of us.
CL
Linear Mode
