queston about orchid names

[GregorK]

Hello

I was doing a little research on C. kerrii and found this name.


Cattleya kerrii "Bahia" x s

So now i want to know, what does word Bahia means. Is it just the name of the form?
and what does x s mean ( maybe x self) is this some sort of cross or what?

And i also found
Cattleya kerrii Brieger & Bicalho

I typed Brieger and bicalho in the google and pictures show some different orchids that have the same name.
Is this just the name of the natural form, or maybe the person who found them. I'm a bit confused about that.

Gregor

[cbuchman]

Gregor, The name in ' ' is the cultivar of the particular cross. Just like in humans, sibling orchids don't usually look alike! Orchids propagated from mericloning are in fact genetically identical and do look alike, but pollination leads to genetic variation and the cultivar names differentiate the offspring of a cross.

Like you, I would assume that the x s means x self.

Hope that helps.

[Ray]

'Bahia' (in single quotes) is the cultivar epithet assigned to that particular plant.

There are any number of plants of the species Cattleya kerrii out there, and if someone see one that is notable, it is common to assign such a name (also sometimes called a "clonal name") to distinguish it from the others. Any asexual reproduction of that plant - i.e., mericlones or divisions - will carry that with it.

Yours also has "x s" after it, which could mean either "crossed with a sibling" or "crossed with itself" (whoever wrote the tag should have been clearer, as they are more often noted as "x sib" and "x self", respectively).

As Cattleya kerrii is a species, the "Brieger and Bicalho" are the names of the taxonomists that first described it, or the ones with the most recently accepted assignment.

[GregorK]

Thank you both for your answers. this was very helpfull

I find it very interesting that you cross the plant with itself.
what are the beneftis of that? And negative sides?

i sometimes find the names of the species very confusing.
ok i get it that we people vary in looks but lets be honest. i dont think there is a lot in difference between two monkeys
For that reason i find orchid species very fascinating but on the other hand its driving me crazy. i want to buy one species and then i discover multiple varieties and i dont know which one to choose, which one is the real one from the wild.
Is it just me or is anybody else having the same problem as i do

Gregor

[cbuchman]

Indeed! And to confuse the situation even more, hybridization occurs in the wild!

I was on a Caribbean Island where Encycla Altissima grows wild. At one end of the island the flower are quite brown and at the other end of the island they are almost lemon colored. And there are several variation in between!

[GregorK]

Yes and those hybrids make the situation even "worse".

The one thing that i am the most worried about is when i order some species from a site on the internet and you never know what you get. the pictures can be very deceiving. Sometimes you just wish to get some perticular form but at the end you may get something completely different, since not everybody have the flower picture of the actual plant....

[cbuchman]

So very true! More and more I am buying species in person so that i can see the flower before purchasing.

[GregorK]

Buying in person is always the best thing. you get what you pick. unfortunetely i am not as lucky as you since we dont have many vendors.We only have one and i think he mostly sells Phals.
I'll have to wait for some orchid show in the nearby states( i better start saving money now )

[Ray]

Originally Posted by GregorK

I find it very interesting that you cross the plant with itself.
what are the beneftis of that? And negative sides?

Within any plant (any living being actually), the genetic makeup determines - among other things - what the plant growth habit is and what the flowers look like. By "selfing" a flower, the hope is that some of the offspring will have the favorable features reinforced and augments, and the negative aspects minimized, but of course, being genetics, there will be a range of traits expressed throughout the population, and some will be bad.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by Ray

Within any plant (any living being actually), the genetic makeup determines - among other things - what the plant growth habit is and what the flowers look like. By "selfing" a flower, the hope is that some of the offspring will have the favorable features reinforced and augments, and the negative aspects minimized, but of course, being genetics, there will be a range of traits expressed throughout the population, and some will be bad.

many breeders have turned to cloning to mass produce orchids with the most "desirable" traits. Its cheap and efficient and produces thousands of plants that are genetically identical - i.e "the same".
Paphs cannot be cloned, hence the reason they are more costly. Selfing can produce a genetic "aberration" because of the possibility, however remote, of recessive genes combining. I selfed a paph lowii in the hope of getting alba progeny - alba being recessive and in the genetic make-up of the parent. I am not aware of any obvious negatives in selfing - its not like typical "inbreeding" in animals where deformities can occur. That said paphs seem to be prone to flower deformities but I have never been able to ascertain whether this is because of a genetic or a cultural problem. I had one flower with a deformed flower 2x, but then every subsequent flower has been Ok. I wouldn't self this one because of this uncertainty.