Using Orchid Names Correctly

The strange jargon used by orchidists, the seemingly unpronounceable orchid names found in books and catalogues and the odd terms which aren't found in the average dictionary, can be a cold shower upon your enthusiasm as an orchid growing novice. (If your interest isn't outright squashed.) Of course, you can bravely flounder through a perplexing fog of half-knowledge, only to find out later that the imperfectly understood terms and guessed at pronunciations will remain a source of uncertainty and embarrassment. It is better to become familiar with some of the word tools at once, so you can more fully understand what you will read andhear later.

The most common questions about orchid names are: "How are they pronounced?", "How are they used?", "How are they derived?". We need to know how these terms are pronounced and what they mean in order to use them effectively. Since there are many thousands of names assigned to orchids, we will just cover some of the basic (most used) nomenlature, citing a few examples.

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Within the Plant Kingdom, plants having fundamental similarities are arranged together in groups called families, possibly the largest of which is the Orchid Family. Within each family, plants having a still greater degree of similarity are grouped together into genera (JEN-eh-rah: singular is genus, JEE-nus). Finally, within each genus plants that are practically identical except for minor individual variations are grouped together into species (SPEE-sheez: singular is also species).

First & Last Names

Therefore, every orchid plant is an individual, a member of a species, a member of a genus, and a member of a family, the Orchid Family. Now that we know that it is an individual and an orchid, we need only the name of the genus and species to which it belongs to identify it. Every orchid has a scientific name consisting if TWO parts by which it is known [somewhat as a person is known as "John Smith"]. In orchids the genus name is given first, as it is the LARGER group ["Smith(,) john"]. With giving the genus name first, it it clear that the different species "Smith john and Smith mary" are different plants within the same genus. Note that the specific (species) name IS NOT capitalized, but the Genera name is.

Sounds Like Greek to Me...

Instead of such simple and familiar names, the botanical names of orchids are predominately derived from Greek and Latin and can be tough to pronounce. Even the experts do not agree fully on pronunciation, though there is a trend toward uniformity. Specific names, that is the names of species, are almost always derived from Latin and follow rules of Latin pronunciation. The names of the genera are usually from Latin, or occasionally Greek, and very rarely from some other source.

Since there are OVER 600 different orchid GENERA, it would be a major project to try to memorize all those names (especially if you had no idea as to what they stood for, or even what the plant looked like). Only a fraction of these genera are found in most collections. Since familiarity comes from use, here is a listing of some of the plants most likely to be found in a newer collection.

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Until now we have been discussing species only, that is the kinds of plants found in nature. However, if two DIFFERENT species of orchid are mated (crossed is the term used), the offspring are known as hybrid plants. Most orchid hybrids are made by orchid fanciers and are called artificial hybrids, but natural hybrids are occasionally found in the wild.

Orchid hybrids are named in a similar fashion to species, but in the place of the specific name there is a grex or hybrid name. The hybrid name isn't derived from Greek or Latin but rather is some "proper" or "fancy" name which IS capitalized. This name is registered with the ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, which keeps track of the hybrids made using orchids. There is a listing of ALL the hybrids made to date available [Sanders Guide to Orchid Hybrids]. The offspring of each different combination of parents receives a different name, but all the offspring of the same combination of parents [even though different individuals may be used] have the same name. As an example, if a plant of Laelia millerii (MIL-uhr-eye) is crossed with Laelia tenebrosa (TEN-uh- bro-sah), the offspring is called Laelia Zip. If the SAME Laelia millerii is crossed with Laelia briegerii (bre-GUR-eye), the progeny are known as Laelia Seagull. The hybrid sign [ X ] can be used in the place of "crossed with" and the parentage indicated by a formula contained in parenthesis, such as Laelia Zip (L. millerii X L. tenebrosa). Note that the GENUS name is abbreviated. There are many genera that begin with the letter "L", so an abbreviation must be clearly understood. SANDERS lists all appropriate abbreviations. By custom, an abbreviation refers to the last mentioned genus before the abbreviation.

In orchids NOT ALL hybrids are made by crossing two different species within the same genus. Bigeneric hybrids are made by crossing species from two different GENERA, such as Laelia and Sophronitis. The offspring belong to a HYBRID GENUS and a new name is found, usually by combining part or all of the name of each parents GENUS. Thus, Laelia X Sophronitis = Sophrolaelia [Sl.] (sah-fro-LAY-lee-uh), and Laelia millerii X Sophronitis coccinea (cok-SIN-ee-uh) = Sophrolaelia [Sl.] Jinn. Another example is Laelia X Cattleya, a HYBRID GENUS called Laeliocattleya [Lc.] (lay-lee-oh-CAT-lay-uh).

When the offspring, after two or more generations of hybridization, contain parents from three or more different genera a new name is also given to the HYBRID GENUS. For example (Laeliocattleya X Sophronitis) = Sophrolaeliocattleya [Slc.] (sah-fro-lay-lee-oh-CAT-lay-uh). While in this example the new HYBRID GENUS name is composed of parts of the three parent genera, most HYBRID GENERA that contain parents from three or more different genera have their names formed by adding "ARA" (AH-ruh) to a proper name, usually a person being honored, such as Moirara = (Phalaenopsis X Renanthera X Vanda), named in honor of W. W. Goodale Moir.

Brassavola [B.] (brah-SAH-voh-luh)
Cattleya [C.] (CAT-lay-uh)
Cymbidium [Cym.] (sim-BID-ee-uhm)
Cypripedium [Cyp.] (sip-ruh-PEE-dee-uhm)
Dendrobium [Den.] (den-DRO-bee-uhm)
Epidendrum [Epi.] (ep-uh-DEN-drum)
Laelia [L.] (LAY-lee-uh)
Miltonia [Milt.] (mil-TOE-nee-uh)
Oncidium [Onc.] (on-SID-ee-uhm)
Phalaenopsis [Phal.] (fal-uh-NOP-sis)
Sophronitis [Soph.] (sah-FRO-ny-tis)
Vanda [V.] (VAN-duh)