You are correct. It’s my understanding that out of the original collection of wild plants that were sent back to England only two plants survived. At the time I purchased this no other collections had been done so any plants available at that time should have been traceable to those original two plants. Growers today have no idea how hard it was to find delenatii back then given the easy availability today.
As a side note, I almost wasn’t able to purchase it. I was in the area on a business trip and had gone to visit J&L Orchids while waiting for craters to come and crate my equipment for shipment to Europe. I’d been trying to find delenatii for 2-3 years with no luck.
So I finally find it, along with a couple of other plants that I have no recollection of, and go to pay. Alas, “Sorry, we don’t take credit cards but I will take a check.”, and me on a business trip with not a whole lot of spare cash and no check book with me.
(For you younger folks out there, that was a primitive form of payment before Apple Pay.)
I explained my situation to Janet, one of the owners. She was drinking tea, which I recognized as Earl Gray, and I commented that her tea (specifically, Earl Gray) smelled good. She mulled the situation over for a second, handed me the plants and said “You know, orchid growers are honest people. Take the plants and send me a check when you get home.”
And that’s how I acquired my first Paph. delenatii.
