Names and Naming
Bob & Lynn Wellenstein
AnTec Laboratory

What's In a Name?

        There are two different but related sets of rules for plant nomenclature. Plants growing in their native habitat are named under The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN), and plants cultivated and hybridized by humans are named under the rules of The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. We'll deal here with aspects of species names first, then hybrid names and naming, and then well cover some of the more arcane aspects of the name game.
glaucophyllum
Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum  
        Let's take a species Paphiopedilum and look at its name: Paph. glaucophyllum. It may also be written as Paph. glaucophyllum. In this system of binomial nomenclature (genus and species) established by Carl von Linne (Linnaeus) in 1753, Paph. is the abbreviation for Paphiopedilum, the genus of the plant named by Pfitzer in 1886. Up to this time, Paphiopedilum had previously been considered as part of the genus Cypripedium, and some species had also been described under the genus names Menephora, Stimegas and Cordula, but under a complex set of taxonomic rules, Paphiopedilum was accepted as the conserved (valid in use) name by the International Botanical Committee in 1959. The species epithet, glaucophyllum, was named by J.J. Smith in 1906. In technical literature, the species would be listed as Paph. glaucophyllum J.J. Smith. The name glaucophyllum originates from the Latin 'glaucus' referring to blue-green color, and 'phyllus' referring to a kind of leaf (Paph. glaucophyllum has a fine layer of whitish 'dust' on its leaves which tends to give them a duller blue-green color).
         The first rule for proper written presentation of the binomial name for a species is that it be either italicized or underlined. Secondly, the genus name is always capitalized, while the species (note that "species" is both singular and plural) name is always lower case. In the past, if the species was named in honor of a person, then it was also capitalized, but this practice is now discouraged and it is considered proper to always use lower case for the species epithet.
moquettianum
Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum var. moquettianum 'Candor Rose Gold' AM/AOS  
        Now let's complicate the species name a bit. Here is a photo of Paph. glaucophyllum var. moquettianum 'Candor Rose Gold' AM/AOS. This is considered by some taxonomists as a variety of Paph. glaucophyllum, but others consider it as a valid, autonomous species and would refer to it as Paph. moquettianum 'Candor Rose Gold' AM/AOS. (The taxonomy and taxonomists dealing with Paphiopedilum are a completely different subject to be dealt with in another chapter, is only touched on here to show areas where agreement is not universal.) You will first notice that the rules for presentation of the species name are the same with the addition of the varietal name also in italics (or underlined) and lowercase.
        'Candor Rose Gold' is the cultivar epithet or, as I prefer, the clonal name of a specific plant of this species. Only vegetative propagations (divisions) of the actual plant (or clones or "meristems" in the case of plants that can be laboratory cloned such as Phalaenopsis, but this is not really applicable to the slipper orchids as they are not easily or commercially cloned at this time). The clonal name is always enclosed in single quotes, and should not be latinized but rather what is referred to by the International Orchid Commission as a "fancy name". Clonal or cultivar names are assigned by the owner of the plant to identify it, and its vegetative propagations. They are required for awarded plants, but should also be assigned to any plant used for breeding or with special characteristics, or horticulturally superior qualities. However, it should be pointed out that anyone can apply a clonal name to any plant, so it does not in any way guarantee the quality of a plant. There seems to be a trend, unethical in my opinion, of some persons to assign clonal names to unbloomed seedlings to increase their worth and salability. If you receive a plant with an assigned clonal name it is unethical and improper to change it with only one exception that will be explained more fully later, and that is in the case of a genetic mutation that significantly alters the phenotype (physical characteristics) of the flower. In addition to always being enclosed in single quotes and presented as a "fancy name", there are a few additional rules to properly assigning a clonal name. It must be unique from any other published clonal names for that species (or hybrid as the clonal name rules apply equally for both). The first word must be capitalized as should any subsequent additional words in it unless normal custom of the language dictates otherwise. A maximum of three words is allowed and must not include any taxonomic terminology such as "genus" , "variety", "form" or any latinized descriptive terms, etc. There are a number of practices in clonal name assigning that are not strictly prohibited but are strongly advised against. These include the use of numerals and many but not all abbreviations. It is suggested that anyone assigning clonal names to their plants read all the fine print on cultivar epithets in "The Handbook on Orchid Nomenclature and Registration".
        AM/AOS added after the name of the plant indicates that it has received an Award of Merit from the American Orchid Society. A list of award abbreviations is appended to this chapter. More information on the judging process will be presented in a separate chapter. It is important to note that the award is only to this clone and its vegetative propagations (divisions), not to any of its offspring. So if a label reads (Paph. glaucophyllum var. moquettianum 'Candor Rose Gold' AM/AOS x self) or (Paph. glaucophyllum var. moquettianum 'Candor Rose Gold' AM/AOS x sib) or Paph. glaucophyllum var. moquettianum ('Candor Rose Gold' AM/AOS x 'Eureka' AM/AOS) or (Paph. glaucophyllum var. moquettianum 'Candor Rose Gold' AM/AOS x Paph. anything), none of these plants carries the clonal name or award of the parent. They may in themselves eventually be awarded, but they will have to be awarded on their own merit, and assigned their own unique clonal name.

Naming a hybrid

adductum
Paphiopedilum adductum  
Bianka
Paphiopedilum Bianka 'Candor Autumn Tapestry' AM/AOS  
        Now let's take our plant of Paph. glaucophyllum var. moquettianum 'Candor Rose Gold' AM/AOS and cross it with Paph. adductum 'Candor Wildwood' HCC/AOS. The cross, if unregistered, would be listed capsule parent first and pollen parent second separated by an "x" as (Paph. glaucophyllum var. moquettianum 'Candor Rose Gold' AM/AOS x Paph. adductum 'Candor Wildwood' HCC/AOS). As it happens this cross has already been made and flowered, and was named as Paph. Bianka by H. Doll in 1990. It should be noted at this point that if the reciprocal cross were made, that is (Paph. adductum x Paph. glaucophyllum) it will still be considered the same cross and named Paph. Bianka. The same applies if the cross is made with different parental clones, any cross of either Paph. glaucophyllum or Paph. moquettianum with Paph. adductum, regardless of clones used, or which was capsule and which was the pollen parent, will be Paph. Bianka. Also note that if a plant of Paph. Bianka is selfed or crossed with another plant of Paph. Bianka, the resultant progeny will also be considered Paph. Bianka. The flower pictured is Paph. Bianka 'Candor Autumn Tapestry' AM/AOS. As you can see, there are a few different rules for writing hybrid names. First, they are not italicized or underlined, and secondly, all words are capitalized. The same rules apply for the clonal name and award for hybrids as for the species.
        Again, please note that the hybrid name Paph. Bianka would also apply if the cross was with Paph. glaucophyllum, rather than with Paph. moquettianum. This is because the International Registration Authority for Orchid Hybrids recognizes only the nominate species for registration. Figuring out which species are currently considered valid for registration purposes and which are considered synonyms can be daunting. There is a listing of synonyms published in "The Handbook on Orchid Nomenclature and Registration" and updates are published as addenda to the new hybrid lists, but confusion can still exist. Part of the problem is the result of the balance between scientific and horticultural purposes. Many times old names are conserved in the registry for horticultural stability, while at other times the registry seems slow to accept new concepts. It is our opinion that the registry needs to be a bit more responsive to the horticultural side of things, and in cases like the present example, Paph. glaucophyllum and Paph. moquettianum should be accepted separately for hybrid registration purposes regardless of the taxonomic position, since they impart different phenotypic qualities to their offspring.
        How does one register a new orchid hybrid? First of all, one needs to have flowered the hybrid. Then one has to understand that the right to register a new orchid hybrid is reserved for the person who made the hybrid (the originator as defined as the owner of the capsule bearing plant at the time of the cross) or the person he assigns that right to. If one is not the originator but has made a good faith but unsuccessful effort to discover the originator, then it may be possible to register the cross as "originator unknown". If one is not the originator, but flowers the plant, it is possible to ask permission of the originator to name the plants. Some hybridizers will grant permission, while others generally like to name their own crosses. In some cases, hybridizers are willing to allow others to register their crosses, but retain the right of approval of the chosen name. If you request permission in writing of the originator and they do not respond within 3 months, then it is considered consent, by default, to register the hybrid. If the originator refuses permission, but does not register said hybrid within 9 months of the refusal, then the refusal lapses and the hybrid may be registered without the originators permission. Of course the easiest route is to be the originator.
        The next step is to obtain a registration form, which must be an original as supplied by the Registrar's office, as photocopies or otherwise duplicated forms are not accepted. These can be obtained directly from the Registrar (see appendix) or from many national orchid societies. The form needs to be filled out completely and submitted along with the appropriate fee and, if the hybrid is between two natural species, a photograph of the hybrid flower is also required . One must supply two possible grex names for the hybrid in case the Registrar rejects one. The same rules apply to grex names as stated earlier for clonal names, with the addition that they cannot start with a single letter (for example the hybrid Paph. S Gratrix would not be accepted under current rules, but remains as it was named before the single letter rule was established). There are a number of other recommendations for naming and reasons that the Registrar may reject a hybrid name, so it's very desirable to obtain and familiarize yourself with the rules in "The Handbook on Orchid Nomenclature and Registration".

Botanical Latin

        Probably the most certain thing about pronouncing Botanical Latin is that no matter what you say or do, someone will disagree. The second most certain thing is that if you are serious about Botanical Latin then you need to spend about $40 to obtain W. T. Stearn's "Botanical Latin". And the best advice is an admonition from the expert W. T. Stearn: "Botanical Latin is essentially a written language …. How they are pronounced really matters little provided they sound pleasant and are understood by all concerned…". It is also sort of silly arguing over the English pronunciation of Botanical Latin when the English pronunciation of English words varies so tremendously, not just from English speaking country to country, but even within an English speaking country. We'll discuss the "rules" of Botanical Latin in another chapter.

Hierarchical Nomenclature for our species example

Category Ending Example as Cited in Text
Kingdom   Plantae
Division -phyta Magnoliophyta
Subdivision -phytina Magnoliophytina
Class -opsida Liliopsida
Subclass -idea Liliidae
Order -ales Orchidales
Suborder -ineae Orchidineae
Family -aceae Orchidaceae
Subfamily -oideae Cypripedioideae
Tribe -eae Paphiopedileae
Subtribe -inae Paphiopedilinae
Genus   Paphiopedilum
Subgenus1   Paphiopedilum
Section1   Cochlopetalum
Subsection1    
Species1   Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum
Subspecies1    
Variety1   Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum var. moquettianum
Form1    
Cultivar (Clone)2   Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum var. moquettianum 'Candor Rose Gold'
Award3   Paphiopedilum glaucophyllum var. moquettianum 'Candor Rose Gold' AM/AOS
  1. There is no universal agreement among contemporary taxonomists dealing with the Slipper Orchids at these levels.
  2. Assigned by the owner under the rules of The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants
  3. Granted by and under the rules of an awarding body, usually an orchid society, in this case The American Orchid Society.

Abbreviations (awards)

FCC First Class Certificate
AM Award of Merit
HCC Highly Commended Certificate
CCM Certificate of Cultural Merit
CCE Certificate of Cultural Excellence
AQ Award of Quality
AD Award of Distinction
JC Judges Commendation
CBR Certificate of Botanical Recognition
CHM Certificate of Horticultural Merit
GM Gold Medal
SM Silver Medal
BM Bronze Medal
CBM Certificate of Botanical Merit

Abbreviations (some awarding societies)

AOS American Orchid Society
OSSEA Orchid Society of South East Asia
RHS Royal Horticultural Society
RHT Royal Horticultural Society of Thailand
OSSA Orchid Society of South Africa
ODC Orchid Digest Corporation
JOS Japan Orchid Society
HOS Honolulu Orchid Society
DOG Deutsche Orchideen-Gesellschaft
JOGA Japan Orchid Growers Association
OSROC Orchid Society of the Republic of China (Taiwan)


Registrar Address:

The International Orchid Registrar
P. O. Box 1072
Frome, Somerset BA11 5NY
England
Email: orcreg@rhs.org.uk

Bob & Lynn Wellenstein
AnTec Laboratory
PO Box 65
Candor, NY 13743 USA
607 659-3330
http://ladyslipper.com
Copyright 2000 AnTec Laboratory
May be reproduced by nonprofit organizations if presented in its entirety.

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