A Detailed Explanation of the Terms "Plain-color Orchids" and "Colored Orchids"
Zhonghua Hongsu was discovered in 2012 in the Dabie Mountains of Anhui Province. This year it is blooming again, and it is expected to meet the broad community of orchid enthusiasts at the Suizhou Orchid Exhibition. It has now been in bloom for more than a week, and its flower form remains unchanged. Its flower characteristics: the flower form is relatively large, the color is emerald green, the tongue is red through to the base and all the way to the tip, the red color is vivid and bright, and the fragrance is pleasant. The plant form is upright and tall, with a strong and commanding presence!
The ancients classified orchids into plum-petal, narcissus-petal, lotus-petal, plain-color, and rare forms. Here, plum petals, narcissus petals, lotus petals, and rare flowers all have corresponding standards and are also easy to classify. Strictly defined, plain-color flowers refer to having only one color, a clean and pure color without impurities, as pure as ice and jade. Because many red flowers, purple flowers, black flowers, yellow flowers, and others have appeared today, the term "colored flowers" has emerged. Colored flowers include plain-color flowers. In order to standardize and unify the standards, here is a simple explanation of colored flowers and plain-color flowers.
Plain-color flowers: pure ones are called green plain, white plain, red plain, yellow plain, and so on. For example, those that are entirely clean and free of impurities are called whole-tongue plain and pure plain. For those that are slightly not so clean, it would be a pity to give up the word "plain," so they are called peach-cheek plain and bright-mouth plain. With even more relaxed conditions, they are called water-stain plain. At present, the basic condition for plain is judged by the orchid's tongue, that is, the orchid's tongue is a pure color. For example, a pure red tongue is currently also called red plain.
Colored flowers: some white flowers, yellow flowers, red flowers, purple flowers, multicolored flowers, and other relatively rare orchids with impure colors that are mainly appreciated for their color are all classified as colored flowers.