Orchid What's Its Name

[cneos]

I am passionate about every plant in my orchid collection whether it has a verifiable name or not. In the right conditions, a NoID can bloom as beautifully as one with an extensive pedigree.

A perfectly grown NoID can garner numerous 2nd and 3rd place ribbon awards at many orchid society meetings or shows, but the majority of these societies and the AOS judging system reserve their coveted 1st place ribbons and awards for identified or named plants).

It's heart-breaking to have nurtured a plant for twenty+ years, deliver it to the exhibit hall in the back of a pick-up truck, have it nominated for 'Best Specimen Plant in a Show' and judged 'in situ' by the AOS only to have it excluded from the competition because its parentage is unknown. But that is what happens to NoIDs or unidentifiable beauties.

If my comments about naming a plant something that it is not seem brusque, I apologize. I too have fallen in love at first glance with many a NoID. But as a judge in training and a part-time hybridizer, it is imperative that I know or am able to trace a plant's family tree.

The following excerpt from AOS explains why it should/might be important to you too: "New hybrids are frequently presented for judging and awarded before they are formally named. These plants are held in a provisional-award status until such time as the grower completes registration of the hybrid name. Once the application is approved, the award is then finalized and published. Every cross between two hybrids is given a name and registered with the International Registration Authority for Orchid Hybrids according to internationally established rules. These records had their inception in the hybrid list kept by the House of Sander in England in the early 1900s, and have continued to be maintained by the Royal Horticultural Society. These meticulous records enable one to trace any given orchid hybrid back to its original species' parents -- important information for selective breeders."