flower shapes

[Burgos]

hi everybody!

i just wanted to ask if anyone could explain what´s the shape of the flower. in spanish forums they sometimes say: very beautiful coulours, but...the shape iss really ugly. what do they refer to? ould you please put photos to make it clear?

does it mean that that flower is not similar to the really good species?

i write it here in catts because i saw it when talking about laelias i think.

if anyone can help me
thank you

[RosieC]

Hi Burgos,

I'm not really sure myself, but I think there are several reasons why people say this.

It could be that the flower is not very symetrical. I believe that symetry (especially in catts) is very important.

I think it can also be (as you suggest) when it's shape is not matching what is expected of the species/hybrid or even of the genus.

Sometimes someone has said this about a flower which personally I find very attractive, in other cases I can see what is meant.

Hopefully someone will be able to show some example pics.

[catwalker808]

Burgos.
I think that the concept of a nice "shape" for an orchid flower is largely a learned response influenced by artificial orchid judging standards and the reactions of other orchid people. A person who is not an orchid collector might say: "That is a very attractive flower. I like the nice star shape." This is a normal human reaction based on personal preferences and concepts of beauty.
To compare, in human societies, different cultures have different concepts of female beauty. The painter Reubens, for example, had an entirely different concept of female beauty compared to Hollywood and New York fashion models.

On the other hand, an orchid hobbyist or judge might say: "This flower has an excellent shape" (meaning, by judging standards, that the petals are full or rounded and the entirety of the parts of the flower fit nearly into a circle or oval). This is the Hollywood standard.

While these are entirely artificial standards for "shape", they are largely accepted among orchid people in general conversations and assessments of flower appearance.

[buckie]

I wish I had said all that, at our last local show I was lucky enough to get Champion Cattleya of Show, in my opinion it wasn't the best there, the judges look for colour, shape and the way the flowers are held on the plant, there are a lot of other things they also look for, here they also check the label to make sure it is correct by the RHS. Also, what one judge likes another may not, same as you and me...What is that saying...Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

Warren

[catwalker808]

"Spot on" for your best in show. Is that the right phrase?
Funny how we talk about really poor flowers as "dogs" and down under, "putting on the dog" means something like dressing up or showing off.

[Burgos]

thank you for making it cleaar