# Paphiopedilum hybrids - how many?



## Secundino (Feb 10, 2015)

I am preparing a new entry for my blog and eventually came to an dead end: if it is already difficult to determine how many species (accepted taxons) exist - it seems nearly impossible to find numbers on how many hybrids have been made since 1869 flowered Paph. Harrisianum (Cypripedium then). AnTec gives 13.000 as rough estimation; where can I find - if there are - better numbers? Tried at rhs; but don't know how to find the overall number of registered hybrids.
Need a helping hand!


----------



## SlipperFan (Feb 10, 2015)

That's a tough one. Good luck!


----------



## Secundino (Feb 10, 2015)

When you enter 'Paph' two times in the rhs-grex-search, you get 24601 hits... but, as I understand it, that would include all the synonyms as well.


----------



## Trithor (Feb 10, 2015)

That is going to be a hard one. Part of your problem is that, in the early decades, different hybrid names were often given for pollen/pod reverse crosses,as well as different names by different breeders in different countries for the same cross. How you are going to distill that mess without a lot of work, I am unsure. Goodluck


----------



## Secundino (Feb 11, 2015)

Yep, all the synonyms, or what now is considered a synonym. I'd hoped I could somehow filter them out at the rhs register. But I can't imagine that this is the first time this question comes up, so somewhere there could be the answer already. I do read books!oke: So, if somebody knows where to look, I'll do so!


----------



## phrag guy (Feb 11, 2015)

I saw 25,447


----------



## PaphMadMan (Feb 11, 2015)

Let a database do the work... OrchidWiz 11.2 has 24063 listings for genus Paphiopedilum, and that should already exclude any cross referenced synonyms, etc. Subtract 133 species listings included in that number and there were 23930 registered Paph hybrids as of Sept 30 2014.


----------



## Secundino (Feb 12, 2015)

Thank you for that information! Every time I try to contact the persons behind OrchidWiz I get a security alert at my laptop, so this was a dead end for me.


----------



## Ozpaph (Feb 15, 2015)

PaphMadMan said:


> Let a database do the work... OrchidWiz 11.2 has 24063 listings for genus Paphiopedilum, and that should already exclude any cross referenced synonyms, etc. Subtract 133 species listings included in that number and there were 23930 registered Paph hybrids as of Sept 30 2014.



well done!


----------



## Secundino (Feb 16, 2015)

This is strange, my post disappeared ... 
Well, again then, thank you all. I've asked rhs about the number and got answer from Julian Shaw/RHS: "The total number of Paphiopedilum grex entries in the register is 24826. The number of unique hybrids without containing synonyms is 23449."

Those number are close to OrchidWiz. I knew there were a lot, but did not imagine more than 20000...


----------

