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Originally Posted by Happypuplucy@icloud.com
Im very new at this but I did manage to save an orchid from death, two years later it bloomed. It is definitely a golden peacock orange but I have seen both of these abbreviations in front of the same plants... Pcv. Or Bpl. I’m getting really confused trying to learn these hybrid abbreviations and species names, how to tell what kind an orchid is... etc. which abbreviation is correct? Also, can anyone recommend a book explaining the new names and species, etc. and what all these abbreviations stand for??? Please help!
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You might want to consider starting a new thread for your questions. This is a very old thread from 2013 and you're hijacking the topic as well as category (supposed to be about pest & disease). If you start a new thread it'll probably get more views and since it'd be a new topic, the question and answers will be more visible and easier to find for newer growers who have the same question.
But the summary is, orchid taxonomy changes constantly, especially as newer technology has revealed previously unknown relationships between genera and better means to classify them. As a result, new genera are created, species are moved from one genera to another, and a whole heap of horticultural names get tossed and tumbled to the point that it's nearly impossible to keep up.
And with hybrids involving multiple species, the odds of a name change are increased because if any one of the ancestral species gets renamed, then it's possible for the hybrid genera to change.
Since most people don't/can't change their tags with each change in taxonomy, you'll find in most instances there will be folks using older abbreviations/genera names, and a mixture of people who use the newer names, and everything in between. Not to mention that sometimes these changes are contentious so you'll have factions that stick with the older classification, and those that subscribe to the revisions.
As an example, many of the hybrids listed as BLC (an intergeneric hybrid of Brassavola, Cattleya, and Laelia) are now actually RC (an intergeneric hybrid of Rhyncholaelia and Cattleya) since some of the species formerly called Brassavola have been moved to Rhyncholaelia and some of the species that were formerly called Laelias are now Cattleya.
In the case of Procatavola Golden Peacock (Pcv is the abbreviation for Procatavola), this hybrid involves Prosthechea vitellina, Brassavola nodosa, and Cattleya milleri. Prosthechea vitellina has previously been classified as an Encyclia (and before that Epidendrum). Cattleya milleri is perhaps contentious, but was formerly (and perhaps still is) known as Laelia milleri. So, depending on who you ask and when the cross was made, the label might have Procatavola Golden Peacock or Bpl for Brassoepilaelia (I think that's the intergeneric name, but I'm guessing) and there are possibly other variances as well. Personally, I can't keep up with most of these changes, so I'm not sure which (if either) is correct, but I'm inclined to say that Procatavola is probably the newer accepted name for this hybrid.