No name cymbidium

[WaterWitchin]

With that clear pink color, she kinda looks like a Cymbidium Priscilla to me. You're right... too pretty not to have her own name.

[aliceinwl]

From what I found, the “idium” is a modifier meaning little so Cymbidium means “little boat”. From what I understand (I could be mistaken as my knowledge of Latin is very limited), this wouldn’t change the gender of the root word. If I’m wrong and it is masculine, it’s still not gender neutral and I’m fine with “a boy named Sue” ;-)

[mkallen81]

Originally Posted by Cym Ladye

The information you have gotten here is basically good. The only two comments I would make are that 1) Virtually all orchids are heterosexual, meaning they can act as both male and female. Hence, referring to them as a she or he is not technically correct. 2) Once a tag is lost, the chances of ever finding the true name is nil. Using "looks like" is doing a real disservice to the viewers of the post who may want to find the same plant. Rather than using NOID, use the Cym. hyb. ign. 'name of your choice' on this and all its future divisions, and enjoy it for what it means to you.

sorry to have offended you with my word choice. Being a french speaker, the word for plante is feminine and thus I have a tendency to want to refer to plants as she. Since I am just a hobbyist and not a professional i don't see that this causes a great deal of problem. If someone wants to call themselves a professional breeder or something maybe this would be an issue, but it is not for me as i make no such claim.

On a side note, I do think though that society in general is becoming more and more intolerant of each other's differences and those differences are what makes the world a magical and charming place. so allowing for differences in language usage, makes the world more fun and interesting to me.

let me know what pronoun you prefer that I use when referring to orchids so as not to trouble those on the forum.

thanks for all the help and insight.
Melannie

[WaterWitchin]

Wise words, Melannie. And I'm sorry your thread got somehow off-topic and onto a different subject. You should call your plants he, she, it... whatever you choose. Some here even use the term "he" or "she" depending on the particular plant. Not sure why, but many don't care either way.

Some folks anthropomorphize plants, some their dogs. And occasionally their car, truck, etc. I'm more likely to do so with my beloved dogs.

I remember when I first started growing orchids, folks would refer to an unlabeled orchid as a "NOID." I was a ways into it before I realized it meant "No Identification" instead of "No Idea."

I still think that pink Cym needs to be called Priscilla. It's just such a girly-girl pink, and Priscilla seems apropos.

[mkallen81]

I definitely like the idea of the name Priscilla! It seems perfect for her delicate pink and white flowers!

thanks for the idea! I think that is what I will call her. Cymbidium Priscilla. Especially since she didn't have a name to begin with. Which i find sad. Why create such a beautiful plant to leave her unamed?

Anyway, priscilla it is LOL


happy spring!
Melannie

[WaterWitchin]

Oh excellent! Since ya didn’t say anything first time I suggested I thought Priscilla was out! Priscilla it is!

[JScott]

Originally Posted by aliceinwl

From what I found, the “idium” is a modifier meaning little so Cymbidium means “little boat”. From what I understand (I could be mistaken as my knowledge of Latin is very limited), this wouldn’t change the gender of the root word. If I’m wrong and it is masculine, it’s still not gender neutral and I’m fine with “a boy named Sue” ;-)

-idium is not a Latin suffix, but one used in scientific nomenclature, and it does create a diminutive. In Latin, diminutives are suffixed with -ulus (masculine) or -ula or -ulum (neuter). The first part of Cymbidium is from the Latin word cymba, which means boat. The word cymba is grammatically feminine, however the -um at the end of the word Cymbidium would indicate it is neuter. Masculine would -us and feminine would be -a. So they've taken a feminine word and attached a neuter botanical suffix to it, so who can really say what gender Cymbidium is? Call her (or him) whatever you want

But botanical Latin is very different from the classical Latin of Caesar and Augustus and Cicero and others that I studied in college.

[Dollythehun]

Well I just typed a long message, and lost it. I studied Latin in high school, and when I had the nursery open I studied botanical Latin. I was so fanatical about it that my customers called me "the plant Nazi." Then I got my Master's degree and found out that no one in the world cared that I had a 3.97 gpa. Sometimes the best thing to do is just to give each other grace.

[mkallen81]

yup, allowing people space to be themselves and be different

[SouthPark]

Very nice flower indeed. I've been searching for a name for this other pink flower - but didn't make any head-way yet!

pink Cymbidium