Paph Neptune 'Mars' AM/AOS

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Leo Schordje

wilted blossom
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Here is a classic, I don't know when it was first named or awarded, but this clone has been traded around for more than 50 years. Anyone know the full history of this gorgeous plant? The parents involved are rothschildianum, with Io (argus x lawrenceanum) as the other parent.

Monster big plant, had to photo it outdoors because it wouldn't fit in my usual spot. I treat it just like any other of my multifloral hybrids.

Paph Neptune 'Mars' AM/AOS (Io x rothschildianum)


Neptune-Mars-July2012a.jpg


Neptune-Mars-July2012b.jpg
 
first registered by Sanders and awarded an AM by the RHS in 1896, this must be among the most widely distributed paphs in the world. Nearly every awarding agency has awarded this plant at one point or another, including AMs/AOS on the West Coast (1969) and the East Coast (1970), and an award to this clone by the RHS in 1986.

As there are several other references to the clonal name 'Mars' being used by Sanders (or by firms with close ties to Sanders) it may be that the 'Mars' clone is the one originally awarded in 1896.

There is some contention that this plant is mislabeled, as it appears the cross of Io and roth could not make something looking like this; this may instead be a callosum or insigne-dominated cross like Callo-rothschildianum or Black Prince (roth x Hera, which is Leeanum x boxalii).

I see that you have a very large plant, and this is fairly common, but it is rather uncommon to flower it with lots of inflorescences - in 1987 both Dr. Berliner and Dr. Neptune flowered this plant well - one with 7 and one with 4 or 5 inflorescences. Despite it being so well-distributed, only one registered offspring exists, the cross with ciliolare, registered in 1996 in Japan - well distributed indeed. I have 4 big pieces of this plant and I have never flowered it! lol...
 
Thanks Tim!
Actually the pot the plant is in is not large right now, 4 x 4 x 5 inches, but it is in dire need of being moved to a larger pot, I'll go to a 1 gallon nursery can, which is roughly 5 inches in diameter and 6 inches deep. Its been 4 years since it was repotted last. It lives directly below a 1000 watt HPS lamp, though the distance is low enough it doesn't get burnt, about 42 inches below the lamp. Time seems to be the secret to bloom this. It simply is not a once a year bloomer.

As to the putative parents, I don't think Hera is involved, the foliage is too heavily mottled to be an all insgne-villosum group x rothschildianum offspring. The parents may very well be correct, as the spotting really says argus to me. If the barbatum section parent were superbiens or cilliolare I would expect an even larger flower, as the flower size relative to the foliage size is about what you'd expect from argus or lawrenceanum, less than rothschildianum.

The foliage is very thick and heavy, and the plant is slow to mature growths, both point to the possibility (not the certainty) that this is a polyploid or aneuploid plant. But until someone does the karyotype, this is merely speculation. The fact there are few hybrids from Neptune does point to the possibility that its chromosomes are not in a 'compatible' arrangement for easy breeding, hence aneuploid as a possibility.

I did not realize that 'Mars' may well be one of the original Sander's plants, that's cool. This means that this clone is 116 years from its first flowering, and most likely the seed germinated a least 5 years before then. So this clone is at least 121 years old. That's beginning to approach old even by a tree's standards. Antique paph indeed.
 
Here is a link to Dr. Neptune's obituary the physician Tim speaks of above.

http://www.tributes.com/show/Wilford-B.-Neptune-88251476

An old friend of mine got a division of Dr. Neptune's plant when the friends still lived in Massachusetts, brought it to Texas and I ended up with a division as well. I have it no longer but I did bloom it once.
I also had a t one time, Paph IO. A very large plant in itself. It grew like a weed but never bloomed. That maybe where Paph Neptune gets it's shy blooming habit.
 
Interesting history, but I'm glad it is your plant, Leo -- not mine. I don't think I'd have the patience to keep it.
 
i should mention i have one or two extra smaller pieces of this plant; if anyone is interested in one pm me.
 
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