Читать книгу Orchids For Dummies - The Editors of the National Gardening Association, Steven A. Frowine - Страница 18

Oh, it would be so simple if naming stopped here, but man got mixed up in all this and started developing hybrids. Hybrids result from crossing two species (taking the pollen from one orchid to use it to mate with another). A marvelous thing happens when two different species of orchids are crossed or mated to each other. Their progeny is usually stronger, easier to grow, and frequently produces larger flowers than either of its parents — which is why hybrids are so desirable and popular.

Here’s an example of a hybrid orchid name: Brassocattleya Cynthia ‘Pink Lady’ HCC/AOS. (See the color section for a photograph of this orchid.) Table 1-3 breaks down the name and explains its various parts.

TABLE 1-2 The Components of a Species Orchid Name

Part of Name	Name	Explanation
Genus name	Cattleya	The first name of the orchid is the genus and is like your last name. It’s always capitalized and in Latin.
Species name	walkeriana	The second name of the orchid is the species. It’s always in lowercase, italicized, and in Latin.
Botanical variety	var. nobilior	Sometimes, a third name appears for a species orchid. This is called a botanical variety and means this form of this species has something special about it (for example, flower shape or color) that separates it from the more usual form of the species. This name is in lowercase, italicized, and in Latin or Greek.

TABLE 1-3 The Components of a Hybrid Orchid’s Name

Part of Name	Name	Comments
Genus	Rhyncholaeliocattleya	This genus combines two different genera — Rhyncholaelia and Cattleya — to result in the human-made name of Rhyncholaeliocattleya. The name is capitalized, in Latin, italicized, and frequently abbreviated Rlc.
Species	None	This is a hybrid that has several different species in its parentage, so no single one is listed. When an orchid hybrid comes from just one species, the species name will also be listed, lowercase, in italics, and in Latin.
Grex	Cynthia	All the resulting progeny from this cross are given a name that’s known as a grex. Think of this as you and all your siblings having a label. The grex is always written in a language other than Latin, is capitalized, and isn’t in italics.
Cultivar (cultivated variety)	‘Pink Lady’	This is a selection from this grex that was deemed, in some way, superior to the other members of the progeny. This name is always in any language other than Latin, is capitalized, is not italicized, and is in single quotes. There are frequently several or more cultivars in a grex. Think of the cultivar as one of your parents’ children. You’re all labeled with a grex, but the cultivar is you in particular.
Award Designation	HCC/AOS	Highly Commended Certificate from the American Orchid Society. (See the nearby sidebar for more information on these designations.)