P. villosum var. annamense 'Yellow Valley Red'

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Guldal

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Last year it graced me with four flowers and gained itself a Bronze Medal - this year I'll have to content myself with two flowers :)
Strangely one flower has a green umbo, the other one a yellow! First I thought, they might be flowers from two sibling plants, that grew up from the same community pot. But they are definately flowers from growths of the same plant?!

Green umbo:
20200419_165533.jpg
Yellow umbo:
20200419_165725.jpg
Both together:
20200419_165600.jpg
Plant in toto:
20200419_165629.jpg
 
Hmmm that’s the first time I’ve seen this. Fascinating.

I wonder if the difference in temperature or sun exposure on one side makes a difference, ie opening in shade side vs sunny side, cooler vs warmer.

I see both flowers face same direction. Was that natural or staked for presentation?

Unless both are different plants, the umbo seems to be controlled epigenetically.

Do you have pics of the previous flowering to see the umbos at that time to compare? I’m curious.

Also I think this is a Paph. christiansonianum rather than annamense (which has yellow dorsal with chestnut markings)?
 
I think this is a Paph. christiansonianum rather than annamense (which has yellow dorsal with chestnut markings)?

Leslie, I think, that you - for once - are barking up the wrong tree (pardon the botanical pun! :D):
christiansonianum is a variety of gratrixianum, which my flower and plant clearly isn't.

In their description of var. annamense, for once, the two preeminent gentlemen, Cribb and Braem, seem to be somewhat in accordance. Cribb in The Genus Paphiopedilum, 2nd ed.: "Var. annamense ... differs from typical P. villosum mainly in its dorsal sepal which is white with a dark violet-purple central streak or blotch edged with pale green or yellow" (p. 258).
Braem et al. in the 2nd ed. of his likewise named monograph states: "The dorsal sepal [of var. annamense] is cream-coloured to whitish and is veined and suffused with dark purple in the centre, with the purple area slightly bordered with green and/or yellow" (p. 192).
Cribb and Braem might be considered lumpers, though, in comparison with Tuan, Gruß et al. in their extensive review of P. villosum in Vietnam in their description of var. laichaunum (Die Orchidee, vol 4(15), 2018). They determine my flower with its lack of a pale green or yellow bordering of the central violet-purple colouring of the dorsal as var. fusco-roseum. I doubt, if all botanist would find this slight colour difference as sufficient to warrant varietal status, though.
I gather that the most exact, almost verging on the fussy, (what germans would call 'akribisch') determining of my plant would be: P. villosum var. annamense fma. fusco-roseum.
And probably, the flower, you had in mind for var. annamense is the var. laichaunum, Tuan, Gruß et al. are describing?
 
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I wonder if the difference in temperature or sun exposure on one side makes a difference, ie opening in shade side vs sunny side, cooler vs warmer.

I see both flowers face same direction. Was that natural or staked for presentation?

They grew in the same direction. They opened with an interval of a fortnight, though. At this time of year and on these latitudes, they've probably received quite different amounts of light, but at a very late stage of their formation.
Well, it's rare, but sometimes people with two different coloured eyes can be seen (heterokromia iridium). Maybe we have something akin to that phenomena here?
 
Leslie, I think, that you - for once - are barking up the wrong tree (pardon the botanical pun! :D):
christiansonianum is a variety of gratrixianum, which my flower and plant clearly isn't.

In their description of var. annamense, for once, the two preeminent gentlemen, Cribb and Braem, seem to be somewhat in accordance. Cribb in The Genus Paphiopedilum, 2nd ed.: "Var. annamense ... differs from typical P. villosum mainly in its dorsal sepal which is white with a dark violet-purple central streak or blotch edged with pale green or yellow" (p. 258).
Braem et al. in the 2nd ed. of his likewise named monograph states: "The dorsal sepal [of var. annamense] is cream-coloured to whitish and is veined and suffused with dark purple in the centre, with the purple area slightly bordered with green and/or yellow" (p. 192).
Cribb and Braem might be considered lumpers, though, in comparison with Tuan, Gruß et al. in their extensive review of P. villosum in Vietnam in their description of var. laichaunum (Die Orchidee, vol 4(15), 2018). They determine my flower with its lack of a pale green or yellow bordering of the central violet-purple colouring of the dorsal as var. fusco-roseum. I doubt, if all botanist would find this slight colour difference as sufficient to warrant varietal status, though.
I gather that the most exact, almost verging on the fussy, (what germans would call 'akribisch') determining of my plant would be: P. villosum var. annamense fma. fusco-roseum.
And probably, the flower, you had in mind for var. annamense is the var. laichaunum, Tuan, Gruß et al. are describing?
Jens, you caught me LOL … I was actually not paying attention as I normally am. I was looking at Koopowitz's OD 2018 Checklist and thought your flower looked like the christiansonianum.

But then, I though to myself 'how can you actually tell the difference between villosum and gratrixianum?'. So I pulled out all my books and studied them carefully. Then I went online and the awards to review said flowers. And you know, the mystery is greater than what we (at least I myself) suspected.

You see, the ONLY major criteria for separating them were the spotting on the dorsal sepal. Sometimes they are separated by plant size, spotting on lower leaves, length of flower scape, angle and size of petals and dorsal sepal, size of floral bracts, hairiness of the floral scape and ovary, the ovoid staminodes and blooming periods.

And you know what I found?

There are flowers on BOTH species that fit comfortably in either one!! I was shocked.

In fact the villosum alliance complex of villosum and gratriaxianum can make a continuum of traits that many of the separated species and varieties can fit along this line. Spots on boxalii (atratum) and red blotch on fusco-roseum can be confused as gratrixianum if the plant features mimic that species due to genetics or culture. Of course there are some which are glaringly obvious of each said species, but there are many that can confuse the eyes. This of course may be due to the fact that these two species sometimes occur in the same area in Laos and Vietnam, and a hybrid swarm occurring from that in isolated patches can stabilze themselves to be consistent enough to warrant species ranking. The fact that Seidenfaden (1992) said in 'Orchids of Vietnam' that 'natural hybridization may confuse the picture' is a reality this group faces. Who knows what christiansonianum may be tomorrow, if not a villosum?

In the words of Masters, 'it is all a matter of opinion....'
 
They grew in the same direction. They opened with an interval of a fortnight, though. At this time of year and on these latitudes, they've probably received quite different amounts of light, but at a very late stage of their formation.
Well, it's rare, but sometimes people with two different coloured eyes can be seen (heterokromia iridium). Maybe we have something akin to that phenomena here?
Heterochromia is a genetic condition where one eye is blue and another eye other colour like green or brown. It is inherited and cannot change with environment.

Since your umbo colors changes, it is not consistent and therefore not genetically controlled to have the same color every blooming. This still fascinates me that it can perhaps be manipulated. You see I prefer the green umbo on a yellow staminode for the contrast.

Did the green umbo flower open last in cooler period?
 
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