Calanthe 2015

[reifuan]

Ok Herman, that is clearly not C. hancockii.
I believe RarePlants offers this species as C. chloroleuca, but I can't find any description of that plant in any flora, just a drawing.
http://www.orchidspecies.com/orphotdir/calchroleuca.jpg
The flower on the drawing has a slightly longer spur than your plant and looks a lot like C. griffithii.
Your plant looks more like the recently described C. yaoshanensis
http://www.kib.cas.cn/xwzx/kyjz/201410/W020141018821024987688.jpg

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/10488166/calanthe-yaoshanensis-sp-nov-orchidaceae-from-northeastern-

[Herman Mylemans]

Ok Herman, that is clearly not C. hancockii.
I believe RarePlants offers this species as C. chloroleuca, but I can't find any description of that plant in any flora, just a drawing.
http://www.orchidspecies.com/orphotdir/calchroleuca.jpg
The flower on the drawing has a slightly longer spur than your plant and looks a lot like C. Grifithii.
Your plant looks more like the recently described C. yaoshanensis
http://www.kib.cas.cn/xwzx/kyjz/201410/W020141018821024987688.jpg

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/10488166/calanthe-yaoshanensis-sp-nov-orchidaceae-from-northeastern-

Here are some details. So it seems that there are a lot of wrong names among the calanthe sellers. Identification by Reifuan: Calanthe yaoshanensis

[Maggi Young]

So it seems that there are a lot of wrong names among the calanthe sellers

That's what I was thinking - we often hear of wrongly named plants  but it appears that orchids are amongst the worst for this from sellers. 

[SteveC2]

I do not think that there are too many nurserymen actually growing hardy orchids, year on year, actually increasing the stock.  Rather I think there are a lot of people selling on other people's stock within a few months / weeks, often dormant or in the early stages of growth, so that any mistake in naming is passed on across Europe.  With respect to Calanthe I think the majority of plants now on sale in Europe are coming from a single source where correct naming is just not considered important.  They are being mass produced and, by orchid standards, sold cheaply.  From what I have seen at shows and in garden centres not too many people buying them actually care if they are correctly named.

Sadly I am coming to the conclusion that buying any hardy orchid, of any species, which is not in flower is a calculated gamble.  The mass produced plants, be they Calanthe, Cypripedium or Dactylorhiza are a total lottery.  Even at events such as Gardener's World Live I have come away thinking that not one of the Dactylorhizas, though all labelled as species, were anything other than hybrids.

Pleione seem particularly likely to be misold.  At the London Orchid Show the general opinion was that about half of the Pleione on display were incorrectly labelled, and that several of those for sale were imposters. Hookeriana the size of hen's eggs are not hookeriana and albiflora for £20 are not albiflora.  The number of Pleione Tongariro masquerading as more expensive varieties on eBay seems to increase every year.

Buying dormant wintergreen tubers is becoming a total lottery, even from reputable traders.  I hope this is just due to errors during the long process from flasking to selling, but I am starting to wonder if it is in fact a sign of wild collecting.  I have removed a couple of dealers from my trusted list due to these doubts.

Then there are other reasons for these errors, from people swapping labels around at shows, people jumping on the orchid bandwagon who simply don't know what they are selling, incompetence at nurseries, the ongoing confusion over names due to the splitter / lumper issues and of course downright dishonesty on the part of the sellers.

But whatever the reason the current situation is a total mess.

[monocotman]

Steve
I agree about the misnaming. Cyps are just as prone as anything else.
One of the few people who have sold me entirely true to name cyps is Frank Schmidt at floralpin and he propagates his own.
David

[reifuan]

Here are some details. So it seems that there are a lot of wrong names among the calanthe sellers

Your flower has the three sub triangular lamellae that set C. yaoshanensis apart from similar species like C. griffithii and C. fugongensis. So Calanthe yaoshanensis is what it must be then!
This species was first described in 2011, but I've seen pictures of it popping up on forums years before, as an unidentified species. Curious how a plant from China ends up in cultivation in Europe before it even has a name..

[Herman Mylemans]

Your flower has the three sub triangular lamellae that set C. yaoshanensis apart from similar species like C. griffithii and C. fugongensis. So Calanthe yaoshanensis is what it must be then!
This species was first described in 2011, but I've seen pictures of it popping up on forums years before, as an unidentified species. Curious how a plant from China ends up in cultivation in Europe before it even has a name..

Thank you for the identification. I bought that plant in 2012 from a person in Netherlands.  I know that in the past he bought plants from Chen Yi, maybe is that the explanation.

[SteveC2]

People ask me why I am so bothered about the names given to plants?

There are several reasons, but here is evidence of just one.  Look at John Evans' excellent photos of the Malvern Show in the Events section.  Clearly the Calanthe and Cypripedium are starting to appeal to a whole new group of people, but obviously neither they nor the judges have the knowledge to challenge the names on the plants at purchase.  It looks as if most of the Calanthe pictured are relatively new purchases, probably all Anthura cabbages, and I suspect that most of the names are works of fiction.  But now they are on the AGS website which means other people will use the pictures as reference points. 

I am rather surprised that the "Cypripedium fasciculatum" did not get correctly named as Cypripedium fasciolatum, a very different creature, but this proves my point.

[reifuan]

It looks as if most of the Calanthe pictured are relatively new purchases, probably all Anthura cabbages, and I suspect that most of the names are works of fiction.

http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/discussion/atshows//Malvern+AGS+Show+/19913/?page=7
Whoever is responsible for labelling all sorts of Calanthe hybrids as Kozu (C. discolor×C. izu-insularis).. I doubt we're ever going to be friends.
The one with the orange/yellow flowers is clearly not Kozu. The pink hybrid has the looks of C. aristulifera , so that isn't Kozu either.  The two purple ones do look like they are hybrids involving C. aristulifera, so at least that's correct.

[Jon Evans]

Hi Everyone
If you ever see show images from AGS shows of plants which are clearly misidentified, please let me know, either by posting to the thread on that site if you are a member, or via this site as I am a member here.  I know very little about Calanthe, so as a photographer I can only go by the exhibitors' labels, but if you let me know corrections a) I can update the thread on the website and b) more importantly I can correct the information related to the images before they get added to the AGS Digital Image Library, where they really do get used as reference points.  I only found the useful feedback in this thread by accident, but I can now correct those images.  Because I maintain that library I care a great deal about accurate identification of the plants shown.

Thanks
Jon

[reifuan]

Calanthes currently in flower:
Calanthe tricarinata; not quite as impressive as Herman's, but it's getting bigger every year, so i'm not complaining



Calanthe discolor


Calanthe hybrid, this one looks a lot like C. discolor in the photo, but it's actually much larger, and has a strong sweet scent,  whereas C. discolor only has a faint mushroom smell

[Herman Mylemans]

Calanthes in currently in flower:
Calanthe tricarinata; not quite as impressive as Herman's, but it's getting bigger every year, so i'm not complaining

Patience is a virtue! Very nice pictures!

[reifuan]

My Calanthe brevicornu isn't looking its most photogenic this year, after first the rodents and later the slugs have been at it.
But with all the hybrids causing confusion, I thought it couldn't hurt to post some more photos of the actual species.

For those who have doubts about the uhh.. 'purebloodedness' of their C. brevicornu; the species is easily distinguished from the hybrids by the length of the spur. As can be seen in the third picture, the spur on this species is little more than a bump between the base of the lateral sepals. The hybrids have a longer spur.
Allthough the majority of Calanthe brevicornu in cultivation are this variety with green and white sepals and petals, there is also one with dark red colouration on the sepals and petals: http://www.orchidspecies.com/calbrevicornu.htm
this  red colour only occurs on the front of the sepals and petals, the back of the sepals and petals is always pale, and therefore, so are the flowerbuds. If your 'brevicornu' has brownish, red or purple buds, it's a hybrid, or something else entirely.

[Maggi Young]

A real beauty, reifuan - wonderful photos too, of the elegant flowers.

[brianw]

The £20 garden centre calanthe were now reduced to £10 on Monday. Most abused of course with little idea of what the flowers were like.