The controversy:

This might prove educational as to some of the "ins and outs" of the judging and award system of the American Orchid Society....

In 1966, Rod McLellan Company showed a plant labeled Stanhopea connata 'Orange Jewel' to the judges of the American Orchid Society, which awarded the plant the Award of Merit.

At that time, the judges were generally confident in their abilities to accurately identify any given species. There have been a few glaring mistakes, such as Phragmipedium schlimii 'Wilcox' AM/AOS, which is not the species schlimii but a hybrid (cross) of it.

There is a mode of redress in such a situation: someone who owns a division of the original plant may show it for award judging again, and at that time the judges may determine that the species is incorrectly identified, and have the option of voiding the award; they may also require that the flowers be identified by any of their recognized authorities on taxonomy. Nowadays, with the proliferation of judging centers and much clarification of various groups of orchids' taxonomy, species are routinely referred to taxonomic authority and the award is granted on a provisional basis until firm identification is made.

In 1995, we bought the plant illustrated on our website from the Rod McLellan Co., labeled Stanhopea connata 'Orange Jewel' AM/AOS. As we bought it from the exhibitor, we assumed it was the plant that had been exhibited 29 years before.

A few weeks ago, Nina Rach of the Houston Orchid Society contacted us, vehemently instructing us to change our representation of this plant. According to the American Orchid Society rules on judging and awards, we cannot until we're certain that ours is not the plant that was exhibited (which it may be although we must agree that the flowers do not fit well the description of the species). We were a little surprised that Ms. Rach apparently expected us to do so, as she is not among the taxonomists on the American Orchid Society list, and of course it wouldn't be the first time an orchid judge might be well intentioned but mistaken.

Ms. Rach now has published a transcription of the award description on the Houston Orchid Society's website, which we surely invite you to read. You'll have to scroll down the page a bit to find her commentary about us and our plant- we think the whole controversy (which has assumed a much more civil tone than the first email exchanges exhibited) has been illustrative of the heated emotions that orchids stimulate in some people. Don't worry - she's been kind enough to include a link back to our species page.

We've been in contact with the American Orchid Society and several of their authorized taxonomists, attempting to resolve this problem. We are still (as of 27 May 2002) awaiting their response. So, our opinion is that we are not allowed to change the name yet. We'd love it if every orchid were accurately labeled - this is the first time such a controversy about any of our plants has come to our attention! Mr. Rudolf Jenny of Germany writes, "Without having seen flowers (preserved material) of your plant I would say it is most probabely Stanhopea jenischiana Kramer ex Rchb.f. from Colombia and Ecuador. The species is well known but the color is normally not brilliant yellow but more brownish-yellow, the structure (again without having seen pickled flowers) seems to be identical with Stanhopea jenischiana."

So, we say it's possible that our plant is not the one that was awarded; it does appear to be a different species, though lovely and fragrant; it's also possible that it is the plant that was awarded, and was mislabeled when it was awarded, and is still not Stanhopea connata; there are others in cultivation that apparently are Stanhopea connata, but then comes the question of whether they are the plant that was shown for the award! We've received numbers of opinions, and seen the description of the species and the transcribed, not original, text of the award. So, decide for yourself whether you want a division of this beautiful orchid.

Carson Barnes Orchids