whats the difference between papilio hybrids

[Wrebbitrocks]

i have 2 papilio hybrids. they are psychopsis mendenhall 'hildos' and psy. kalihi 'big'. whats the difference between the 2? neither have blooms and i have been analyzing internet pics for differences.

so far i noticed that kalihi seems to have more upright antennae and mendenhall seems to flop more. plus the lip on kalihi seems to be more curly. also, the antennae on mendenhall are purple and the kalihi one appear to be marroon. the plants themselves are different. the kalihi has little mottling compared to mendenhall. does this seem right? thanks

[Ray]

Kalihi is krameriana x papilio.

Mendenhall is Butteryfly x papilio, with Butterfly being sanderae x papilio.

There can be a great deal of variability in the color patters on each of them, so IDing them from the blossom will be next to impossible.

[PaphMadMan]

A casual observer might not even realize that Psychopsis papilio, Pyp. krameriana and Pyp. sanderae are different species. Finding consistent differences between hybrids that both involve Pyp. papilio might not be easy. If you want to compare pics online at least make sure you are looking at the specific clones Pyp. Mendenhall 'Hildos' and Pyp. Kalihi 'Big'. Even then environmenal conditions and plant health can make a big difference in the characteristics you mentioned.

[Wrebbitrocks]

yes i did that. i looked at specific clones and compared the two. i know which is which because both are tagged. hopefully they bloom separately so that i can have butterflies for a good chunk of the year like some of the other growers.

[PaphMadMan]

Once they start they bloom sequentially from the same spike, at any time of the year. You might see a lull in winter, but never cut a spike till it dies back. With a couple healthy mature plants you could pretty much always have flowers.

[kavanaru]

my experience: the main difference is the name! :-) I have found impossible to find a way to separate the hybrids from each other. Parents are way too similar, and the hybrids show a lot of variation, overlapping fenotypes... Once I discuss with a botanist friend of mine about this cases, and her answer was: get them from a very good nursery, which you can trust they have the right labels!