Freaks of Nature or...

[jkofferdahl]

Salixx, like you I can't speak specifically to orchids, but a lot of garden plants are cultivars, which means that they persist under cultivation, so it would seem that an orchid cultivar must also persist. Otherwise, it's not a cultivar.

I love examples that involve the dog family because it fascinates me as much as orchids, so thanks for bringing them up! In your example, Canis lupus is the grey wolf, or North American Timber Wolf. Canis lupus lupus is the European Wolf. Canis lupus familiaris is the domestic dog. This, of course, shows that the dometic housedog is a closer relative to a wolf than is a Coyote, which is Canis letrans. (Interestingly, C. lupus isn't the only species of wolf in North America. There is also the Red Wolf, Canis rufus. Meanwhile, the dingo, which appears quite different from a wolf, is in fact a wolf, Canis lupus dingo.) Distinctions aside, they can all interbreed and produce offspring also capable of reproduction (a wolf crossed with a domestic dog is is thought to be the early foundation of the Malamute, which is now considered a basal North American breed of Canis Lupus familiaris and frequently bred), just like we can cross a Phalaenopsis stuartiana with a schilleriana and produce offspring which are not sterile (and in this case is a natural hybrid, P. Intermedia). Back to the differences in species and subspecies, within the domestic dog family you have chihuahuas and Great Danes, both breeds within one species, just as you can get color and size variants within a species of orchid.

Regarding the striated leaves, I don't know if the procedure is the same now but at one time it was the introduction of a virus (apparently non-orchid-lethal) which caused the color break in the leaves.

[Salixx]

Originally Posted by jkofferdahl

Salixx, like you I can't speak specifically to orchids, but a lot of garden plants are cultivars, which means that they persist under cultivation, so it would seem that an orchid cultivar must also persist. Otherwise, it's not a cultivar.

I love examples that involve the dog family because it fascinates me as much as orchids, so thanks for bringing them up! In your example, Canis lupus is the grey wolf, or North American Timber Wolf. Canis lupus lupus is the European Wolf. Canis lupus familiaris is the domestic dog. This, of course, shows that the dometic housedog is a closer relative to a wolf than is a Coyote, which is Canis letrans. (Interestingly, C. lupus isn't the only species of wolf in North America. There is also the Red Wolf, Canis rufus. Meanwhile, the dingo, which appears quite different from a wolf, is in fact a wolf, Canis lupus dingo.) Distinctions aside, they can all interbreed and produce offspring also capable of reproduction (a wolf crossed with a domestic dog is is thought to be the early foundation of the Malamute, which is now considered a basal North American breed of Canis Lupus familiaris and frequently bred), just like we can cross a Phalaenopsis stuartiana with a schilleriana and produce offspring which are not sterile (and in this case is a natural hybrid, P. Intermedia). Back to the differences in species and subspecies, within the domestic dog family you have chihuahuas and Great Danes, both breeds within one species, just as you can get color and size variants within a species of orchid.

Regarding the striated leaves, I don't know if the procedure is the same now but at one time it was the introduction of a virus (apparently non-orchid-lethal) which caused the color break in the leaves.

Completely off-topic, but I have been fascinated by wolves since a very young age. In another life I would have loved to have been a wolf biologist. Also off-topic, it's funny you bring up Mals. My first dog, Maddie, was a malamute and I also grew up along side a mal, Kimo. They are great dogs and they are my favorite breed, but they certainly have a very wild, independent side to them.

That's interesting that a virus was used to cause a color break in the leaf. Was this in Neos?

[AnonYMouse]

Upon further reading:
In Botany, variety is not a synonym of subspecies (but I did read it was somewhere!).

I suppose I'll get my answers if I keep reading.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Upon further reading:
In Botany, variety is not a synonym of subspecies (but I did read it was somewhere!).

I suppose I'll get my answers if I keep reading.

(Um, not to give props to my profession or anything, but libraries usually have good books about orchids [Dewey 635.9], and botany in general [Dewey 580], if you want to read. Sorry. Still love reading stuff in books.)

[AnonYMouse]

Your profession earned my respect with each and every fight against book banning.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Your profession earned my respect with each and every fight against book banning.

Anti-censorship is a good battle.

[estación seca]

What's the wait period for The Art of the Deal? LOL