Paph tonsum from my home display

[WolfDog1 (C. Williams)]

Here's a close up of the tonsum in my display as well as a picture of the whole plant. I got it from Piping Rock Orchids a couple of months ago and it is a very small plant. This is it's first blooming on a single growth. It was in low bud when I got it and the flower is very nice. Too bad the photos are not as nice as the flower. (I'm getting better with the camera though)






Thanks for looking,

Craig

 

[SlipperFan]

That looks really good. Excellent first bloom.

 

[Heather]

Really sweet. Love the color.

I really like tonsum. Thank goodness Brian talked me out of stealing it from Glen's display last week.

 

[Rick]

Its a nice species. Subtle color. Very nice.

 

[WolfDog1 (C. Williams)]

Heather, you crack me up!
I had it in a small show here in WA last weekend and I heard that there was a lot of talk about it. The leaves are so much darker than other tonsums and the plant is relatively small to be blooming sized. I have another from OZ that I got last year and the leaves are very light and the bloom is much lighter as well. However the bloom is probably twice as big as this one. I guess time will tell if it gets much bigger next year. My fingers are crossed!

Craig

 

[NYEric]

Very nice, thanx for showing the whole plant.

 

[Park Bear]

very nice!!

 

[Nautilus]

Congratulation! You have a very nice first bloom.

 

[smartie2000]

Excellent bloom there, and the plant is very small!

 

[myxodex]

I like the subtle purple streaking on the petals. Wonderful species with long lasting flowers, I also like the leaf coloration with the red/purple underneath. I bought a similar plant about a year ago ... also in bud. It was labelled P. tonsum "donker" which means dark (var cupreum ?).
Cheers,
Tim

 

[Kyle]

is cupreum a legit name, or a trade name?

Kyle

 

[WolfDog1 (C. Williams)]

I've never heard it before now.

 

[myxodex]

Lance Birk lists "cupreum" and "alboviride" as a varieties in his book with braemii as a separate species. He writes that cupreum has more purple marking under the leaves. Phillip Cribb has braemii as a variety in his book but neither cupreum or alboviride. I'm not too fussed about taxonomy but I guess this means that there is a continuum between the lighter and dark forms and Phillip Cribb doesn't accept this as varietial status (which to me seems sensible).
This is all the information I have about this ... as for legit ... I wouldn't know who or what is the oracle that decides this as I'm just a simple hobbyist. What I can say with confidence is that if I had more room I'd definitely want to add var braemii to my collection ... if you like subtle beauty, get this species!
Cheers,
Tim