The two species have the same ancestor but developed about 500-800 km apart. The divergent speciation seems to make similar color variations (except one color form noted below).Leslie, is it at all common that a warneri has been mislabeled as labiata? I know how similar they can be, except for the blooming season. Lacking any genetics, I can see how easy it could be to do that.
Each has flowers that can look like the other. If it were not the differences in blooming seasons, there are a few other notable dissimilarities (based on my research and cultivation of both for over the last 15 years):
1. Warneri have wider flatter leaves (over 30% sometimes).
2. Labiata is usually double sheath.
3. Warneri have larger, open, rounder blooms 15-20 cm NS!
4.Warneri can have 3-7 flower per spike whereas labiata usually max at 3.
5. Warneri bloom without rest whereas labiata rests 2-5 months before blooming
6. Warneri root after bloom and labiatas root before bloom, then rest several months and then bloom.
7. Warneri have an pink albescent color form with contrasting greenish white throat (that labiata doesn’t so far as I know)
8. Warneri grows over winter/spring and blooms summer while labiata grows summer and blooms fall.
So there are enough different traits to separate and tell between these very similar species.
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