# How can I ID Paphio. thaianum accurately?



## s1214215 (Sep 21, 2010)

How can I ID Paphio. thaianum accurately when out of flower. Other than a small plant, are there any features that distiguish it and that will help me know I am getting the real thing. 

I recently got 12 plants, and they are now blooming as a dwarf form of godefroyae. I have just been offered 10 plants of thaianum, not seen as yet. So I want to make sure I get the real thing this time.

Brett


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## Kavanaru (Sep 21, 2010)

I cannot help you much on how to correctly identify Pah. thainaum when not in bloom. However, I can tell you what my plants look like. I have had two Paph thainaum and both look slightly different. Only one of them has bloomed so far. (the other is almost dead due to rot - Have lost several plants during this month: changing home, being ill and not being able to provide optimal grow conditions)

Bloomed plant: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4599151371/in/set-72157606303433643/ leave are very coriaceous (more than any other Brachy I have), 4-6 cm long and 2-2.5 cm wide. As you can see in the picture, they are very dark. The underside of the leave is dark purple (almost unicolor!).

Not yet bloomed plant: I do not have a photo of it, but the color of the leave is very similar to those on this Hiro Fusion http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/3615519341/in/set-72157606303433643/. Very coriaceous, but not as much as the other plant (more like concolor!). Underside is light colored but with purple spots everywhere. Leave are 3-4.5 cm long and 1-1.5 wide. The plant is supposed to be FS. I have it since two years, and even though it produces new leave, they are not larger than the previous ones. Of course, as it has not bloomed yet, it could happen to be anything else when it blooms!


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## cliokchi (Sep 21, 2010)

hi s1214215

check if the small back growth shows rests of dried flower spikes.
i think this Paph. thaianum has been around for many years but was always graded out as low quality niveums, i think i have seen them some 10 yrs ago when a collector delivered me some fresh collected niveums from a phang na location.
it was about 30 km north of phuket airport, back then i also culled them out as inferior niveums they were not in flower at that time !
happy orchid growing from northern thailand
cliokchi


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## NYEric (Sep 21, 2010)

Brett, where are you located?


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## Ernie (Sep 21, 2010)

s1214215 said:


> How can I ID Paphio. thaianum accurately when out of flower.



Best way is to send them to me. :evil:


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## Ernie (Sep 21, 2010)

cliokchi said:


> phuket airport



A most appropriate name for almost any airport.


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## SlipperKing (Sep 21, 2010)

Heck, since you seem disappointed with the 12 dwarf form of godefroyaes I'll take them off your hands! I'm sure in year or two they will be re-classifed as something new too!


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## paphioboy (Sep 21, 2010)

Ernie said:


> A most appropriate name for almost any airport.



Ernie, Phuket is pronounced 'phoo-cat', (not silent 'p') and not as you would think... oke:


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## Ernie (Sep 21, 2010)

paphioboy said:


> Ernie, Phuket is pronounced 'phoo-cat', (not silent 'p') and not as you would think... oke:



TomAtoes, tomAHtoes.  

Poo Cat isn't a bad name either.


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## s1214215 (Sep 21, 2010)

Hi Everyone

Thanks for the replies.

I guess I will just have to go on them being very small plants, leathery leaves etc as said above. 

Luckily I managed to get 2 flasks of thaianum yesterday. So I have about 70 plants in flasks anyway and I got to see the mother plant in bud.

Fingers crossed for the mature plants.

I am in Bangkok

Brett


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## NYEric (Sep 21, 2010)

The real best way to id them is to send them to me, I'll send half to Ernie to check too! oke:


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## Kavanaru (Sep 22, 2010)

NYEric said:


> The real best way to id them is to send them to me, I'll send half to Ernie to check too! oke:



France is closer and less problematic fr importing thaianum that USA... oke:

send them to France, and I can tell xou whether they are thaianum or not, by comparing first hand with my two plants.. LOL


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## s1214215 (Sep 22, 2010)

Nice try guys hahah...

Actually I have the CITES for the species, but problem is making sure we have the right ones. I have some plants of the species already, I just want more. I just am not sure of the exact differences as I am new to Paphs.

Brett


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## hardy (Sep 22, 2010)

s1214215 said:


> Hi Everyone
> 
> Thanks for the replies.
> 
> ...



Ah, thaianum from flask, I don't find it easy at all!! Only live sphagnum works reliably for me. Good luck


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## callosum (Sep 29, 2010)

the plants are small when bloom compared with nevium 
green staminode, purpled dot inside the pouch
and my noted the leaf mark pattern have cirtained mark as shown on Kavanaru flickr.


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Sep 29, 2010)

Blooming size thaianum plants can be as little as 2.5-3" in spread. I would think that it should not be a problem to import into the US. Its native to Thailand, propagated in Thailand, and Thailand is a CITES signatory with a major orchid industry that deals with CITES all the time in its exports.


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## s1214215 (Sep 29, 2010)

I got some new thaianum plants and the leaves are definetely rough in texture compared to the once I got sent before. Plants are smaller too.

Well, fingers crossed. I also got 2 flasks.

Brett


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## s1214215 (Sep 29, 2010)

Here are some pics of the thaianum plant I have the flowered. The other plant is the one some friends are saying is a dwarf godefroyae. 

Is the other a dwarf godefroyae? I am not an expert on this. I had thought it to be a hybrid initially, but a friend said it is godefroyae

Brett

Paph thaianum






The imposter









The two together


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## hardy (Sep 30, 2010)

Those are very nice! :clap::clap::clap:
I'm still waiting for mine to bloom


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## NYEric (Sep 30, 2010)

The imposter is deff not thaianum, Even though I killed the few I had I can tell that much!  
BTW, how did you get my camera? oke: I wonder if plants grow better in the bathroom than in the kitchen!?


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## s1214215 (Sep 30, 2010)

Well it is my phone I used hahha.. No not growing in the bathroom though.. they are under lights

Brett


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## NYEric (Sep 30, 2010)

If my bathroom was bigger ...


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## s1214215 (Oct 1, 2010)

Can anyone comment if they think the imposter is a dwarf form of godefroyae?

Brett


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## SlipperKing (Oct 1, 2010)

godefroyae, good guess. dwarf, I don't know.


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Oct 1, 2010)

Some godfroyae/leucochilums are definitely dwarf. Many years ago I bought a leucochilum in the plant district...gorgeous flower, good sized, but the plant itself was small. Each leaf was about 2-2.5" long and 1" wide. They also had a godfroyae for sale at the time that was the same size. The plants weren't labeled, but they were easy to ID from looking at them.


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## s1214215 (Oct 7, 2010)

Thanks everyone

I appreciate the assistance with this ID matter. 

Brett


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