Aphrodite or Amabilis? You decide.

[Izzie]

I KNOW there's at least one person on here who is well versed on this particular subject.

Found this beauty at a grocery store of all places a few weeks ago (I was stunned, I've never seen species there!).

The tag says "Phal. Amabilis v. formosa 'Taida Masayuki'"
I was able to track it down on the vendor's site:
????

I've looked at these pages explaining the amabilis vs. aphrodite, but I'm still on the fence.
phalaenopsis amabilis anglais


So whatcha think? I think she's stunning either way.
Having a ball in my south window- her leaves immediately perked up and turned a much nicer dark lime green.

Also- what does the formosa/formosana variation do anyways? I can't see a difference.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It's clearly Phal. aphrodite.

The shape of the lip is not the same.

The only analogy I can think of is the crocodile and alligator analogy.

Crocodiles have long slender snouts.

Alligators have shorter triangular snouts.

Same thing with the differences in the lip of Phal amabilis and Phal aphrodite.

Phal amabilis has a slender mid-lobe on the lip.

Phal aphrodite has a triangular mid-lobe on the lip.

There are probably other differences as well, such as the shape of the callus (the callus are the ridges on the back of the lip).

The variant formosana might have some differences in patterning and coloration from the other forms. The differences are difficult to tell apart if you don't know what to look for.

[Izzie]

Ha! That's what I THOUGHT.
So is it Aphrodite v. formosa or just plain formosa?


I LOVE the purple stripes. They remind me of fangs, or baleen. Already, this is one of my favorite orchids to photograph, second to my Ping tung gold.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

It would be Phal. aphrodite var. formosana.

Don't capitalize the species name. It's not a hybrid.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I was thinking things through, and the formosana variant might also have slight differences in the shape of the petals and the sepals compared to the other variants.

[cneos]

Phal amabilis, amabilis var. formosanum, aphrodite and formosanum are all synonyms for each other. The term var. usually means that there is a characteristic that is slightly different from others in the same species. Examples: var. coerulea indicates a blue flower; flava indicates yellow. Var. can also indicate the geographic location where the plant is found.
Your plant is lovely - what a great find!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by cneos

Phal amabilis, amabilis var. formosanum, aphrodite and formosanum are all synonyms for each other. The term var. usually means that there is a characteristic that is slightly different from others in the same species. Examples: var. coerulea indicates a blue flower; flava indicates yellow. Var. can also indicate the geographic location where the plant is found.
Your plant is lovely - what a great find!

So...

Wait...

Phal amabilis and Phal aphrodite are the same species?

Did they [orchid taxonomists] re-order the two species as variants of each other, rather than classify them both as separate and distinct species based on recent DNA findings?

To my understanding, Phal amabilis and Phal aphrodite were always considered two separate species. Is this no longer the case?

Are you able to cite the information where Phal aphrodite and Phal amabilis are now considered the synonyms of each other and that they're merely just variants of one another?

[OrchidSue]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

So...

Wait...

Phal amabilis and Phal aphrodite are the same species?

Did they [orchid taxonomists] re-order the two species as variants of each other, rather than classify them both as separate and distinct species based on recent DNA findings?

To my understanding, Phal amabilis and Phal aphrodite were always considered two separate species. Is this no longer the case?

Are you able to cite the information where Phal aphrodite and Phal amabilis are now considered the synonyms of each other and that they're merely just variants of one another?

It depends on the taxonomist and if you are a lumper or a splitter. Some consider aphrodite as a variant of amabilis, some consider aphrodite a separate species. I don't know that any DNA studies have been done.

Susan

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by OrchidSue

It depends on the taxonomist and if you are a lumper or a splitter. Some consider aphrodite as a variant of amabilis, some consider aphrodite a separate species. I don't know that any DNA studies have been done.

Susan

Oh...

Well then, I think this question needs to be answered.

They've done DNA analysis of the Huntleya clade and did a massive restructuring of that family, they should do it for the genus Phalaenopsis.

It'd be interesting to see what they find!

[cneos]

I am not a taxonomist or botanist but a resource that I go to frequently is Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia
Here's the references:
* !Phalaenopsis amabilis [L.] Blume 1825
* Phalaenopsis amabilis var aphrodite [Rchb.f] Ames 1908 - See Phalaenopsis aphrodite Rchb.f 1862
* Phalaenopsis amabilis var formosana Shim 1921 - See See Phalaenopsis aphrodite Rchb.f 1862
* Phalaenopsis aphrodite Rchb.f 1862 (section points out some of the structural differences between amabilis and aphrodite to which you referred.)