Paph. venustum album (Popow)

[LO69]

Being a lover of Paph. venustum I'm glad to share with you some pictures of this nice represention of the album form.

It's a honor and pride for me as It comes from Popow, a man who dedicated his life to the plants we all love. So sad he passed away.

Paph. venustum has It all! Beatiful snake skin foliage, nice flowers, compactness.

 

[P.K.Hansen]

Beautiful. I have one from him too, but it doesn't show signs of wanting to flower at the moment

 

[Martin]

Very nice one! Is it already completly open?

 

[LO69]

Very nice one! Is it already completly open?

Only few days since It opened. Will post some more if any change occurs.

 

[Guldal]

Only few days since It opened

My experience is, that flowers in some cases can open fully, but still for a week or two after that increase in size. It's difficult to judge from a photo, but yours seems to be of a fair size, already. Please, give us the measures in a week or two!
I really like your flower, but understand Martin's question, as one would wish for the dorsal, that it opened more fully. If it does so, I would deem it neigh perfection in respect to form!
Keep us posted!

 

[Happypaphy7]

Such an interesting species! The leaves and the flower are both very unique.

 

[Martin]

My experience is, that flowers in some cases can open fully, but still for a week or two after that increase in size. It's difficult to judge from a photo, but yours seems to be of a fair size, already. Please, give us the measures in a week or two!
I really like your flower, but understand Martin's question, as one would wish for the dorsal, that it opened more fully. If it does so, I would deem it neigh perfection in respect to form!
Keep us posted!

Not only for the dorsal, most venustum Album which i have seen reflex the petals. If they stay like that its a real Keeper in my opinion.

 

[LO69]

My experience is, that flowers in some cases can open fully, but still for a week or two after that increase in size. It's difficult to judge from a photo, but yours seems to be of a fair size, already. Please, give us the measures in a week or two!
I really like your flower, but understand Martin's question, as one would wish for the dorsal, that it opened more fully. If it does so, I would deem it neigh perfection in respect to form!
Keep us posted!

I will certainly do an update in a week, hoping for the best.
Regarding the size of the flower I agree with you that pictures may sometimes fake reality but consider that I like to keep my plants under fed, a condition that keeps the plant size smaller thus the flower seems bigger.
I've never loved those plants with lush and abundant vegetation as It Is also more prone to deseases and bugs. However last growing season I gave so little! Have a wardii and jackii with maybe 3 small leaves that are blooming.

 

[DrLeslieEe]

I will certainly do an update in a week, hoping for the best.
Regarding the size of the flower I agree with you that pictures may sometimes fake reality but consider that I like to keep my plants under fed, a condition that keeps the plant size smaller thus the flower seems bigger.
I've never loved those plants with lush and abundant vegetation as It Is also more prone to deseases and bugs. However last growing season I gave so little! Have a wardii and jackii with maybe 3 small leaves that are blooming.

I'm intrigued to see this wardii and jackii blooms.

BTW the album form of venustum is var. measuresianum, which isn't really true album, more alboviride and with colored warts at the base of the petals (due to anthocyanin).

 

[LO69]

I'm intrigued to see this wardii and jackii blooms.

BTW the album form of venustum is var. measuresianum, which isn't really true album, more alboviride and with colored warts at the base of the petals (due to anthocyanin).

Thank you Leslie, you know, sometimes sellers are 'lazy writers' on my tag it's only written ' venustum alba'...

I should say more 'in bud' as they are not blooming yet, anyway here they are:

 

[GuRu]

Being a lover of Paph. venustum............ Beatiful snake skin foliage.....

So am I. They have not only a lovely foliage but also a pouch wich reminds me of a brain.
Your flower looks excellent in these photos. Mine is flowering too at the moment, but its petals are more reflexed backwards than of your flower.

 

[SlipperKing]

Of your unbloomed venustum the third plant/ pic is not very "snake skinned " in appearance. Is it venustum?
Maybe more malipo

 

[GuRu]

Of your unbloomed venustum the third plant/ pic is not very "snake skinned " in appearance. Is it venustum?
Maybe more malipo

Rick, he wrote in post #8 of P. venustum and P. jackii....so you are right, this one should be P. jackii.

 

[SlipperKing]

Oh, ok

 

[LO69]

Rick, he wrote in post #8 of P. venustum and P. jackii....so you are right, this one should be P. jackii.

Thanks guru for pointing things out, but there Is a little mistake as It Is not a paph venustum in bud but a paph wardii in bud.
Some confusion, my bad, to go off topic!!

 

[GuRu]

........ It Is not a paph venustum in bud but a paph wardii in bud........

Maybe I should have had a closer look, too.

 

[Guldal]

BTW the album form of venustum is var. measuresianum, which isn't really true album, more alboviride and with colored warts at the base of the petals (due to anthocyanin).

In the competition to secure myself the first place in the category 'Nitpicker to end all nitpickers, 2021' let me draw the attention to the fact, that probably most botanist these days would no longer consider the albino form of venustum a variety taxonomically, but describe it as a colour form, i.e. P. venustum fma. measuresianum, as it doesn't differ morphologically in any way from the typical form.
And for the record: the epithet 'album' means white and can only be used for flowers, that are exactly that. In relation to flowers like the one in question, one speaks of albinistic or albino colourforms, i.e. without anthocyanin (red pigment), but with other colours as f.ex yellow or green - a few colour forms have been described as 'aureum' (golden) in spite of the occurence of sparse dark dots, as is f.ex. the case of P. lowii fma. aureum. Braem as well as Gruß have both expanded on and clarified this subject in several of their publications.
Apart from the above considerations, I'm in all other respects in full accordance with Dr. Ee!

 

[GuRu]

In the competition to secure myself the first place in the category 'Nitpicker to end all nitpickers, 2021' let me draw the attention to the fact, that probably most botanist these days would no langer consider the albino form of venustum a variety taxonomically, but describe it as a colour form, i.e. P. venustum fma. measuresianum, as it doesn't differ morphologically in any way from the typical form.
And for the record: the epithet 'album' means white and can only be used for flowers, that are exactly that. In relation to flowers like the one in question, one speaks of albinistic or albino colourforms, i.e. without anthocyanin (red pigment), but with other colours as f.ex yellow or green - a few colour forms have been described as 'aureum' (golden) in spite of the occurence of sparse dark dots, as is f.ex. the case of P. lowii fma. aureum. Braem as well as Gruß have both expanded on and clarified this subject in several of their publications.......

Jens, very well explained but it takes more to become THE NITPICKER of all nitpickers.

 

[DrLeslieEe]

In the competition to secure myself the first place in the category 'Nitpicker to end all nitpickers, 2021' let me draw the attention to the fact, that probably most botanist these days would no longer consider the albino form of venustum a variety taxonomically, but describe it as a colour form, i.e. P. venustum fma. measuresianum, as it doesn't differ morphologically in any way from the typical form.
And for the record: the epithet 'album' means white and can only be used for flowers, that are exactly that. In relation to flowers like the one in question, one speaks of albinistic or albino colourforms, i.e. without anthocyanin (red pigment), but with other colours as f.ex yellow or green - a few colour forms have been described as 'aureum' (golden) in spite of the occurence of sparse dark dots, as is f.ex. the case of P. lowii fma. aureum. Braem as well as Gruß have both expanded on and clarified this subject in several of their publications.
Apart from the above considerations, I'm in all other respects in full accordance with Dr. Ee!

That said, despite the presence of the basal warts, these varieties breed like true albums. This is because in my extensive research for my probationary thesis for the AOS paper, I have studied the genetic lineage of venustums, including the progenies that came out of the albino breeding lines (this paper will be published in sections in the future AOS Orchids magazine issues early next year).

Let me clarify:

1. the genome that carries the anthocyanin warts are independently coded from the rest of the anthocyanins of the petals, sepals and lip.
2. when bred to white albino species and pure white/yellow hybrid lines, these wart genomes do not affect the white of the rest of the progeny flower
3. sometimes, these warts may disappear even within the same progeny generation and not expressed phenotypically on the petals among some of the siblings.

So in all aspects, the wart anthocyanins are like minor freckles that does not affect the overall color inheritance of the progeny.

This rule also applies to the lowii aureums and their 'freckles'.

 

[Guldal]

Very interesting observations on the dark warts, Leslie. Looking forward to read your paper in full - hopefully the author is allowed to share the text with 'friends'!

One remark of yours, though, sticks out like a sore thumb:

... despite the presence of the basal warts, these varieties breed like true albums.

No venustum varieties, so far known to mankind, breed like true albums. If you find one, that does, you will be creating a true botanical sensation, i.e. a venustum with a flower entirely without chlorophylic pigment (no green), all white.

Braem expounds lucidly on the subject of albinism in his monograph on The genus Paphiopedilum. According to his 'notes on albinism, there are only three species in the genus, that can produce true album (i.e. all white) flowers, namely P. bellatulum, P. godefroyae and P. niveum.