phal. braceana

[goodgollymissmolly]

Anyone, including myself, who ventures into the briar patch of the taxonomy of Phalaenopsis subgenus Aphyllae is doomed to his own suicidal fate.

That said...I doubt this is the taxon known as Phal braceana (the accepted name is now P. taenialis much to my dismay because they look like two different things to me). The color of braceana/taenialis is green to copper brown. At least on all my devices which are usually pretty correct, your picture appears obviously pink.

If the color is pink, I doubt braceana is a choice. P. wilsonii is more like the color of your picture, but generally it's form differs from your picture. It would be somewhat helpful to see a side view of the flower to see if the back of the lip includes a very short, nipple-like spur or hump as some choose to call it.

I suspect that even the best observers (which doesn't include me for sure) can make peace with the current state of this subgenus because no matter whose version you try to follow there are obvious discrepancies in the taxonomy. It would be very interesting to see if a professional taxonomist specializing in Phals would identify your plant.

Caution again...I'm assuming your plant is actually pink as the picture shows on four different devices at my house.

[The Mutant]

To be honest, it doesn't look like a P. taenialis either, not if you check this page: Phalaenopsis taenialis, but you're definitely right about the P. braceana part (you are probably right about the P. taenialis too, I'm just a newbie!) according to the pictures on the same page: Phalaenopsis braceana



The weird thing though, I recognize the Phal... Could it be a primary hybrid? I'll check and see if I might find it.

[goodgollymissmolly]

If you dive dangerously into subgenus Aphyllae you will soon decide that there is much more work to do. Many of these plants are native to China and were authored by F Y Liu, now retired. Liu only had basic outside world contact and probably described plants already described from outside China. Also neither herbarium specimens or photographs were provided in most cases. Liu obtained the plants from unspecified sources and from unspecified locations and grew them herself. There are serious problems and they are unlikely to be sorted out for a long time. Even if some/all of these are species, it's likely their habitant is destroyed so who knows or ever will know. If I were you, I would keep my plant remember how it is identified and maybe someday you might discover what it is. I still think that getting a taxonomist to look at it would be interesting. I'm not sure where you are located, but if you could enter the plant at the Toronto or Vancouver AOS Judging Center you could get it identified (or not) by the AOS species iedentification task force for free.

[Tindomul]

Well I love it! It would certainly grab my attention, just because its so different. And I really like the colour.

[camille1585]

Beautiful!! I really like this Phal. I don't have it, but do have the hybrid with equestris. Now I'm just waiting for it to grow up and bloom!
It's actually recommended to grow this one in intermediate conditions (doesn't need the cold to bloom) in order for it to hold on to more of it's leaves. Grown cool, it tends to go deciduous.

[goodgollymissmolly]

You are correct. It is best to grow the Aphyllae Phals so that they do not do deciduous. Most of them are tiny enough already without starting over every year.

My understanding is that they don't necessarily go deciduous in nature either. Just when dry conditions are severe.

[The Mutant]

Thanks for the info both of you! I've ordered a P. taenialis so this was really good to know.

[ezil]

Thank you all for commenting. I'm well aware that not all research is done on phal. taxonomy. I acquired this plant 3 years ago from a very reputable grower, so I trust the tag it came with. I was also told that is a highly variable species. The flowers this time are not as "coppery" as they were last blooming. The back of the sepals are the most brownish/copper. I have had a taenialis before, and it was quite different. Whatever the correct name ends up being: I love the flowers and should I be able to find another one, I'd just get it because, more than likely, it wouldn't be the same anyway.

[camille1585]

Could it be that rather than pure braceana, it's the primary hybrid that I have? Phal braceana x equestris = Phal Braquestris Melmi. The flower shape matches, and I know that the color of this cross is very variable. It can go from quite pink, to more copper colored.

[sweetjblue]

I was thinking as soon as I saw the pic that this was a hybrid made with equestris. So I agree with Camille that it could be Phal Braquestris Melmi.

Judi