# I ordered an appletonianum and I need to



## abax (May 31, 2012)

have the tag explained. The tag says Paph. wolterianum
(wolterianum x appletonianum). I intended to buy a species Paph. and the tag confuses me. The ebay description didn't mention wolterianum that I remember.
Exactly what did I buy?


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## eggshells (May 31, 2012)

I am not sure but isn't Paph wolterianum just a synonym of paph appletonianum.

http://www.orchidboard.com/communit...iopedilum/2241-paphiopedilum-wolterianum.html


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## littlefrog (May 31, 2012)

Different people might have different opinions, but in my mind they are synonyms. So you have an appletonianum.


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## abax (Jun 1, 2012)

Thank both of you for the info. and photo. I thought that might be the case, but was momentarily confused by the
tag. Why, just out of curiosity, would a tag then add the
(wolterianum x appletonianium) underneath the Paph.
wolterianum? If the two are synonyms, why repeat the
name?


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## littlefrog (Jun 1, 2012)

Just in case they aren't synonyms. What you have is an 'outcross', a crossing between two distantly related members of (perhaps) the same species. If you believe they are synonyms, at least you know that you have a plant from a larger gene pool. If someday in the future you become convinced that appletonianum and wolterianum are different species, then you have that information and can label the 'hybrid' appropriately. 

By the way, if you want to count them as separate species, the hybrid is called Paph. Phnom Penh.

What you have uncovered is a little appreciated aspect of breeding species... Every time you make a cross within a species, you get the same species back, right? But what happens when the lines between species change? Today you make a cross between two appletonianums and label the offspring appletonianum. Tomorrow, some taxonomic genius decides that appletonianum and wolterianum are different species, and your cross is now Phnom Penh. How do you keep track? It is possible, but rarely done. Even if you can keep track in your own collection, once the seedlings are released to the public, it is impossible. It all comes down to the fact that our definition of 'species' is artificial, nature doesn't put names on things. That might be a separate thread.


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Jun 1, 2012)

You have appletonianum. What the label is telling you is that one of the parents was labelled wolterianum, a synonym of appletonianum. It is probably meanuingless, but it is actually giving you some extra info into the parentage, even if it only means that it was (metaphorically) given the name "Richard" instead of "Dick".


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## Rick (Jun 1, 2012)

part of the reason that two names were floating around for a while was that appletonium is extremely variable in the wild, and someone found a patch that was a bit different from what they were used to seeing. Something about more or less strongly patterned leaves??? So in the ever competitive rush to get something named in honor of someone, it got to species status.


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## abax (Jun 1, 2012)

After my head clears, I think I'll call it 'Susa'. I admire the
genetic work being done with orchids, but I'm getting damn
tired of the in-fighting and changing familiar names for
unpronounceable names I can't even get on my tags. Didn't Eric mention that it's also called something else as
well? Interesting info. anyway.


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