You pose not a strange question, but a rather intelligent one that remains a hot topic for fuukiran growers the world over. I've inquired about this to various growers in the past and the responses I've got back were highly varied. Some fuukiran with really weird flowers and/or colored flowers are true variations of N. falcata. Some examples would include 'seikai', 'unkai', 'shunnkyden' - all certainly the pure species.
Others, especially the yellow forms, are very suspect such as 'kikutome' and 'ogonmaru'. These no doubt have Ascocentrum in their genes. Even the "wild collected" yellow variants should be looked at suspiciously. I know of one case where yellow plants were made in the lab, put out into the wild, and later "discovered", collected, and sold as yellow wild plants. The other day I was looking at the green flowered 'hisui' in my collection and I couldn't help but see that the leaves have a very different look about them, very unlike most N. falcata. I've seen thousands of N. falcata and all I can say is that this one's leaves don't feel quite right...does that mean they are of hybrid origin? No, but something is nagging me....
The purple variants are another interesting group...are they true N. falcata? Some growers say, "definitely", others I've talked to say, "no way". Case in point, 'benisuzume', an easily grown plant and commonly sold. One grower I deal with says the original plants came from the island of Shikoku and most plants in cultivation are seedlings of that original selection. Another very experienced grower laughs at that idea - in his mind they are obviously influenced by Ascocentrum.
I must say at this point I really don't care anymore. There is a lot of money floating around the fuukiran trade between private parties and also through vendors. That has lead to less than scrupulous dealings and the situation is likely to continue. Fuukiran are a Japanese tradition, but now the Koreans are highly involved in making new forms and a lot of plants are coming in now from China as well. How to sort that all out? An impossible task if you ask me!
