# Paph. stonei var. platytaenium lives on....



## Drorchid (Jan 18, 2011)

.....at least it's genes do....

For those of you who have not heard of Paph stonei var platytaenium, it is considered a stable peloric form of Paph. stonei, with extra wide petals. Only one plant was ever discovered that had this trait, and unfortunately this plant is not in existence anymore.

To see pics of this plant see:
http://www.kew.org/exhibitions/johnday/images/large/jds_23_063.jpg

Luckily, there is still one hybrid in existence that was made with Paph. stonei var. platytaenium: Paph. Morganiae (stonei x superbiens). The one clone 'Bufordense' is still around in many collections:












Now I crossed Paph. Morganiae 'Bufordense' onto one of our Paph. sanderianum's. I was hoping that the petals would get longer, but still be wide, and keep the color of the Morganiae parent.

Finally the first seedling opened up, and it was exactly was I was hoping for. Interestingly you can still see the stonei var. platytaenium influence with the wide petals coming through into this hybrid:











Robert


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## nikv (Jan 18, 2011)

Very interesting! I had not heard of this variety before.


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## Shiva (Jan 18, 2011)

Neither heard of it before but I like the seedling a lot. Grand colours!


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## NYEric (Jan 18, 2011)

Interesting. cave-man arms!


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## Wendy (Jan 18, 2011)

That is awesome!


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## Erythrone (Jan 18, 2011)

Very interesting!


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## Wendy (Jan 18, 2011)

Is this new seedling named and are you selling them? It's a very attractive cross. :drool:


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## Drorchid (Jan 18, 2011)

Wendy said:


> Is this new seedling named and are you selling them? It's a very attractive cross. :drool:



Not named yet (still thinking about a name).

We only have a few plants left, so if you want one, act fast....

http://www.orchidweb.com/detail.aspx?ID=1384

Robert


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## W. Beetus (Jan 18, 2011)

Beautiful! The petals are great.


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## smartie2000 (Jan 18, 2011)

I like the results.


someone on the forums have posted a peloric stonei before if I remember correctly. However it had 3 pouches rather than extra wide petals


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## Paph_LdyMacBeth (Jan 18, 2011)

Bazinga!


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## rdlsreno (Jan 18, 2011)

Excellent color!

Ramon


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## SlipperKing (Jan 18, 2011)

Nice outcome Robert but to me, the petals aren't any longer then the Morganiae. Are they?


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## SlipperFan (Jan 18, 2011)

Beautiful. Are you also going to self your Morganiae. That's as pretty as any.


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## paphioboy (Jan 18, 2011)

Whoa!!! Awesome chunky petals..


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## JeanLux (Jan 19, 2011)

Very interesting outcome for that cross wirh sand.!!! Jean


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## cliokchi (Jan 19, 2011)

HI Robert,
have you thought about back crossing burfordiense with stonei , select some plants of this back cross and cross with stonei again and again , this is done with farm animals like chicken to retrieve some old races, it would be a life long job but if mendel's law is right at some point the stonei var platytaenium maybe resurrected 
just an idea
respect cliokchi


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## Drorchid (Jan 19, 2011)

SlipperKing said:


> Nice outcome Robert but to me, the petals aren't any longer then the Morganiae. Are they?



They are not as long as I was hoping for, but yes they are longer than the Morganiae.

Robert


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## Drorchid (Jan 19, 2011)

cliokchi said:


> HI Robert,
> have you thought about back crossing burfordiense with stonei , select some plants of this back cross and cross with stonei again and again , this is done with farm animals like chicken to retrieve some old races, it would be a life long job but if mendel's law is right at some point the stonei var platytaenium maybe resurrected
> just an idea
> respect cliokchi



Great idea! and theoretically possible, buy according to RHS rules, you will never be able to call it a stonei (even if it will be 99.9999 % stonei after say 10 generations), but maybe something to think about!

Robert


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## Drorchid (Jan 19, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> Beautiful. Are you also going to self your Morganiae. That's as pretty as any.



Good Idea as well! Maybe we will get some plants that have even wider petals!

Robert


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## nikv (Jan 19, 2011)

I like the idea of back-crossing it to stonei. It will still be a hybrid, but I won't mind.


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## John Boy (Jan 19, 2011)

I have to disagree. From a commercial perspective such effort would only make sense if it were a species. Granted, within a F3 or F4 you’d be finding plants that would look like the real thing, but since it would technically remain a hybrid for ever and ever… prices as well as chances to sell it for a price that would reflect the effort are slim at best. And having said all this: bench-space is another consideration (and we all know stonei dimensions not even considering the amount of time that would be needed for such a project…) 
I love hybrids, don’t get me wrong here, but I know loads of folks who would not look at these plants because they’re not a species, though ultimately I’d expect them to look like the real thing.


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## Brian Monk (Jan 19, 2011)

I have to agree, at least from a commercial point of view.


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