Den. Specio-kingianum vs. Den. x Delicatum

[stonedragonfarms]

Ok, I'm confused; D. x Delicatum is D. speciosum x D. kingianum (though I believe that it's speciosum v. hillii solely) while D. Specio-kingianum is D. kingianum x D. speciosum... Am I incorrect in my thinking that the reciprocal cross is the same as the original for naming purposes? Or, does x Delicatum only bear out when referring to a plant that is/was the progeny of the naturally occurring hybrid...and, what is the protocol now that D. speciosum v. hillii has been moved to/become Thelychiton tarberi...Does anyone have any insight on this?
Adam

[WhiteRabbit]

Found this :
"Speciosum v hillii is now regarded as tarberi by many authorities..." http://asgap.org.au/d-spe.html

[Andrew]

Dednrobium x delicatum is the natural hybrid of kingianum and speciosum (or more specifically speciosum var hillii / tarberi depending on who you talk to). The natural hybrid of kingianum and speciosum var speciosum is x kestevenii. To make things more complicated I believe Jones/Clements split the kingianum involved in this natural cross off as a separate species. Technically the artificial hybrids should be Den specio-kingianum but most people refer to the artificial hybrid as Delicatum as well and I doubt you'll get people to change this habit anytime soon.

[stonedragonfarms]

Originally Posted by Andrew

Dednrobium x delicatum is the natural hybrid of kingianum and speciosum (or more specifically speciosum var hillii / tarberi depending on who you talk to). The natural hybrid of kingianum and speciosum var speciosum is x kestevenii. To make things more complicated I believe Jones/Clements split the kingianum involved in this natural cross off as a separate species. Technically the artificial hybrids should be Den specio-kingianum but most people refer to the artificial hybrid as Delicatum as well and I doubt you'll get people to change this habit anytime soon.

Andrew:
Thanks for the information; Dendrobium kingianum was split into Thelychiton kingianus if my memory serves me correctly, thus I'm assuming that Thely. kingianus x Thely. tarberi is Thely. x delicatum... Ugh!

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by stonedragonfarms

Andrew:
Thanks for the information; Dendrobium kingianum was split into Thelychiton kingianus if my memory serves me correctly, thus I'm assuming that Thely. kingianus x Thely. tarberi is Thely. x delicatum... Ugh!

According to Jones' Complete Guide to Native Orchids of Australia, x kestevenii is a natural hybrid between Den speciosum var speciosum and kingianum var. pulcherrimum, which Jones, Clements etc are now calling Thelychiton pulcherrimus.

As for Thelychiton, Kew doesn't accept this name and its really only being used by some groups within Australia. The same can be said of tarberi, where the name speciosum var hillii is generally more widely accepted. The general orchid societies over here use Dendrobium. Native orchid society members tend to have mixed opinions about using Dendrobium vs Jones and Clements' names with Dendrobium tending to win out amongst the growers. The main lay arena where the split epiphytic genera have gained any real traction is amongst the field naturalists/photographers, although opinions are still very much divided.

If you were in Australia, you wouldn't be alone in calling a Dendrobium a Thelychiton, although you may well invite an argument. I doubt there would be many people in the US who would be using the name Thelychiton or even Dendrobium tarberi so it's probably not worth you worrying too much about the Australian taxonomic scuffles for the moment.