# P. lynniae



## Lance Birk (Nov 5, 2008)

This photo is the rarely seen P. lynniae, named after Lynn Wellenstein of An Tec Orchids, who very generously sent me two sib-selfed seedlings three years ago. I think this is a beautiful flower and I am very grateful for her gift. Lynn and her husband Bob also lent me the photos of the species for my recently revised paph book. If you look closely you can see colorful hairs at the top, backside of the horny projection on the staminode. I do not recall seeing this before on any paph species.

Edit: Looking more carefully through my slides, I see these same hairs on most all my P. lowii species slides. 

Both plants have been steady growers for me, in my uncontrolled greenhouse, and 2 winters ago they withstood temps down to 30-33 degrees for nearly five nights in January. I grow them about a half mile from the ocean, in a canyon where it remains cool during the year, although we do have a few times each year when the days can reach into the 90°s or more. Nights remain 60° or below in summer and we have reasonably good humidity for the California desert climate. 

Except for a touch of fungus during the colder months, this has been an easy species to grow and, like most paphs, it produces a flower after the seventh leaf has formed. While the flowers are smallish, 3 inches across, so are my plants, and I expect them both to increase somewhat in size in the next year. Presently, each has produced multiple new growths. 

Much like P. richardianum in plant habit, I do not expect the flowers or the plants of either species to reach the size of P. haynaldianum, or some of the P. lowii complex types, although stems on P. richardianum can easily reach 3 feet . While those flowers are slightly smaller than these, they are very beautiful and are quite striking, see the back cover of my paph book.

If you will examine flowers and plant habits of these similar-type Section Pardalopetalum species, especially the several different types of P. lowii, I would ask anyone contemplating the thought of crossing any of them together to consider the resulting confusion such crosses have already brought. If you need to ask, a quick search through this forum will reveal countless requests to identify suspect plants, many of which were crossed (and supposedly sib-crossed) with other similar-type species. Why sponsor chaos? (Isn't the RHS in full charge of that department?)


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## SlipperKing (Nov 5, 2008)

Right O! Lance on your last paragraph! Beautiful lynniae! I wonder if there is any more out there in slipperland to be bought?


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## @[email protected] (Nov 5, 2008)

Thank you to show us a P. lynniae. It is very unusual to see this ""species"" on the forums. It is strange because this ""species"" seems to be easy to grow.

I had lowii and richardianum. I confirm that richardinaum is much compact as that lowii plant can be. If I well understand, you explain that the size of lynniae is as compact as richardianum but stems shorter ?


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## Drorchid (Nov 5, 2008)

Thanks Lance for showing the picture. Indeed you rarely see pictures of this species. I looked up the species in Guido Braem's book, and according to him the main difference between this species and lowii and richardianum is that in lynniae the inforescence, bracts, ovary and the flowers are glabrous (hairless) while in the other 2 species they are pubescent (with hairs). Also unlike the other 2 species, Paph. lynniae has a double-keeled synsepal.

Robert


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## Drorchid (Nov 5, 2008)

Lance, be sure to read another post I will be posting regarding a different form of Paph. lowii that we have here in the greenhouse, I want your opinion about it (It will be in the Taxonomy section).

Robert


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## labskaus (Nov 5, 2008)

Very interesting, and a charming flower.

Do you know more about the history of P. lynniae? I read somewhere it has turned up only once in an import from Borneo. Are all (the few) plants in cultivation derived from this single plant?

This is still a doubtful species for me, as long as there are so few plants and there is so little known about them. At least, it seems to breed true from sibs which is good.

Thanks for showing this,

best wishes, Carsten


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## Jon in SW Ohio (Nov 5, 2008)

That is a REALLY nice one! I've only seen one in person and it didn't look anywhere near that nice.


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## Lance Birk (Nov 5, 2008)

Please notice my edit.

Flower scapes of this species are much shorter than those of P. richardianum.

Upon examination, this species is clearly distinct from any of the P. lowii-type species. It does have a 2-keeled ventral sepal. The spotted dorsal sepal is one of the key identifying characteristics that separates this from all but P. haynaldianum. 

I do not know the precise habitat location, perhaps the Wellensteins can offer some information. ....You there, Bob?

My plant fits perfectly with the photos of several different clones Bob Wellenstein sent me. The variation is slight, and shows a tight degree of genetic diversity, undoubtedly due to an isolated habitat. 

I list photos of several distinct types of the P. lowii complex on ppg. 66-67 of my revised paph book.


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## SlipperFan (Nov 5, 2008)

That's a really colorful flower. More so than lowii or haynaldianum, I think. Maybe it's the fine spotting on the dorsal.


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## Rick (Nov 5, 2008)

This is a rarely seen species, and very pretty too.

Thanks for posting. I hope we can get some habitat data.


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## Leo Schordje (Nov 6, 2008)

the hybrid (lynniae x henryanum) has very intense color - more than one would expect from a lowii hybrid. This species needs to be eveluated for its breeding potential. It may be better than lowii for color, and more compact to boot.


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## john mickel (Nov 6, 2008)

Still have your original book - what is the 7th leaf to bloom theory - Thanks for all your good work - john


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## Lance Birk (Nov 7, 2008)

Quite a number (not all) paph species will send up a bloom spike after the 7th leaf has formed. I suspect it only shows maturity, but it is a rather reliable means of detecting when a plant will bloom. It isn't a theory.


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## biothanasis (Nov 9, 2008)

Stunning flower!!!


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