what defines a species?

[merkity]

just curious, i have been browsing the orchid nursery websites, and many of them have links labeled species. does this mean these plants are ones found in nature vs. being crossed by humans?

[camille1585]

In a nutshell, yes, you could say that. All the species are orchids that naturally occur in the wild, but when it comes to hybrids you can't say that they are all manmade. Hybridization will occur in the wild as well.

I think that there are other people here that can give you a much more detailed answer than me.

[PaphMadMan]

We could get more technical about it but I don't think there is any need to and it might even confuse the issue. Camille's answer covers it pretty well, but if it still isn't clear let us know.

[merkity]

thanks for your answers! that pretty much sums up what i thought - but just wanted to check. I did figure there would be some nature made hybrids as well...but was just curious about the species designation and how it is defined

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Species names are designated as so:

Phalaenopsis bellina

I highlighted the "P" and the "b" for a reason. The genus name is always capitalized. The species name is always lower case.

A subspecies would be designated as so:

1. Disa spathulata ssp spathulata

or...

Disa spathulata subsp spathulata

2. Disa spathulata ssp tripartita

or...

Disa spathulata subsp tripartita

Notice I highlighted the abbreviations for subspecies "ssp" or "subsp".

If the name of the plant is designated to a natural hybrid it will look like this:

Phalaenopsis x leucorrhoda

The "x" is not the letter "x", it signifies the word "cross".

Here's another thing you'll encounter...

Variant names.

You'll sometimes see something like this:

Dendrobium kingianum var. alba

or

Dendrobium kingianum var alba

The abbreviations "var" or "var." signify the word "variant".

Occasionally you'll see species orchids with the genus name, a species name, and another name in single quotations, such as:

Cochleanthes flabelliformis 'Ivan's'

The name in the single quotes is the cultivar name.

Here's another example of a cultivar name:

Cattleya warscewiczii var. semi-alba coerulea 'Natural World'

Notice also that the cultivar names are capitalized.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Man-made hybrids are designated a bit differently.

First the simple one. The genus name and the grex name.

Masdevallia Dean Haas

Notice the grex names are capitalized.

Now here's the genus name, grex name, and cultivar name of a man-made hybrid:

Masdevallia Sunset Jaguar 'Nightbreed'

Again, the genus name, grex name, and cultivar names are capitalized.

Also notice how the cultivar name is in single quotations.