What are the eight new varieties of Cymbidium faberi? Learn about them in one article

 

Lao Jipin        Green-shell type green Cymbidium faberi plum petal

 

      (1901), the Xinchou year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, discovered by Feng Changjin of Gongcheng Garden in Hangzhou. Although it is a relatively modern introduction, it is a very elegant and precious variety with green stems and green flowers. Because another variety, "Jiangnan Xin Jipin", appeared among the red Cymbidium faberi, it is also called "Lao Jipin". It is a famous flower that enjoys great renown among orchid lovers in its places of origin, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and the vicinity of Shanghai.

       Leaves 40-55cm long, about 1cm wide. The leaf texture is thick, with strong upright growth. There is a slight leaf groove from the petiole to the middle section, and from the middle section to the leaf tip it gradually becomes flat. The leaf posture is semi-upright. 

The flower scape is light green, thick and upright, and the flower buds split open as soon as they emerge from the soil. The mature scape is 40-50cm tall, generally bearing 8-18 flowers. The florets have long stalks.

The three outer petals are round-headed with tightly rolled edges, and the petal flesh is thick. Long feet with a contracted base, separate pouches, hard hooded stamen-bearing petals (sometimes occasionally of the split-head closed-back type), the lip is a large dragon-swallowing tongue, and the shoulders are level. The bracts are green. It is listed among the eight new varieties of Cymbidium faberi.

    Characteristics of Lao Jipin: The new shoots of Lao Jipin are green, and as they develop and grow they become medium-fine leaves, finally becoming semi-upright, semi-pendant leaves. The colour is deep green, and amid the inherent toughness of Cymbidium faberi it carries a slight softness, with a noble posture. The flower's three petals have thick, powerful flesh, the flower head is round and large, and the petal edges curl tightly inward just like a border. The flower base is finely contracted, and when the stamen-bearing petals become a hard hood they are covered with white moss and embrace the flower centre in a protective manner. The tongue petal is like a dragon's mouth (that is, the dragon-swallowing large tongue), and the two side petals have level shoulders. The flower's diameter is about one cun two or three fen to one cun four or five fen. It is a formal plum-petal type similar to the flower of the red Cymbidium faberi "Chengmei", and its light emerald green colour is bright and fresh, adding a few more degrees of grandeur and ornamental value compared with "Chengmei". The peculiar feature of this flower is that when it first opens the petals are as fine as eagle claws, and just when one worries that it may not open well, after two or three days it slowly expands and reveals its true appearance. The flower stem is blue-white when it sprouts, and after elongation becomes an upright, light green slender stalk. It also bears many flowers; ordinarily one stem bears eight or nine to twelve or thirteen flowers. It is truly a celebrated variety.

 

Cuie                 Green-shell plum petal

 

    In 1909 it was selected by Rong Wenqing of Wuxi. Wuxi has Huiquan wine, which was described in Chapter 16 of "Dream of the Red Chamber", where Xifeng gave this wine to Nanny Zhao. Red lip means the flower's lip petal has bright red spots. Slender stems and level shoulders are the characteristics of Cuie, and "hard to see once" means it does not bloom easily. Biluochun is produced at Taihu; although Wuxi is beside Taihu and one also sees it hawked all over the streets, it is not the main producing area, whereas Cuie is indeed produced in Wuxi and, with its distinctive character, is renowned in the orchid world.

    The leaf posture is obliquely pendent, the leaf width is medium-fine, and the leaf texture is thick and hard. The flower scape rises above the leaves, bearing about 7 flowers. The three outer petals are elliptical, the petal flesh is extremely thick, the petal tips drift slightly, with separate pouches and a hard stamen-bearing petal, and a ruyi tongue whose base is not exposed. Its flower colour is especially emerald green, making it a small, delicate and lovely small-flowered green Cymbidium faberi drifting plum.

       Strongly fragrant, it is a traditional celebrated variety of Cymbidium faberi and one of the old eight varieties of "Cymbidium faberi".

 

Qinghua Mei         Green-shell type plum petal

 

       Three petals with short round heads, tightly rolled edges and thick flesh, silkworm-moth hooded stamen-bearing petals, a large ruyi tongue, an especially outstanding emerald colour, level shoulders, an elegant variety with a long stalk. It is listed as one of the eight new varieties of Cymbidium faberi. Leaves 40-50cm long, 0.7-1cm wide, thick in texture, with a "V"-shaped leaf groove on the surface, the leaf colour emerald green and glossy, and the leaf posture semi-pendent. The flower scape is slender and round, a light green "lamp-wick stalk", rising above the leaf surface, each scape bearing 6-8 flowers. The three outer petals have short feet and round heads, tightly rolled edges, and thick petal flesh; the two lateral sepals are in an embracing posture, and the tongue surface has brilliant red spots. The flower quality is well-formed, and the bloom is long-lasting.

       According to records, in the spring of the first year of Taisho (the first year of the Republic), Che Qing of Shaoxing obtained one flower bud with two slender leaves at the Huaxing Hotel and took it to Suzhou and Shanghai, but no one was interested. Finally he brought it back to Hangzhou, by which time the grass had withered and the bud had shrivelled. The master of Jiufeng Pavilion exchanged it for an old variety worth several tens of gold, cultivated and watered it, and by the fifth month of the sixth year it finally opened, one stem with six flowers. Since it appeared that even among the old green Cymbidium faberi there was no such fine variety, and it was even more spirited than "Jipin", and moreover in view of the fact that Che Qing was staying at the Huaxing Hotel just when the festive occasion of the founding of the Republic occurred, it was named by taking one character each from the person and the place, to commemorate the auspiciousness of the Republic. It is truly a precious variety.

 

 

Jiangnan Xin Jipin            Red-shell green-flower plum-petal celebrated variety

 

    One of the eight new varieties of Cymbidium faberi flowers, and moreover a famous variety of the orchids of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, indeed of Chinese orchids.

       It appeared in the fourth year of the Republic (1915). It was selected by Qian Alu of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Yang Ganqing of Wuxi, Jiangsu cultivated it. Later, in the sixth year of Showa in Japan (1936), it crossed to the east and thus went abroad. In the Japanese orchid world it was highly esteemed and hailed as a "red-stemmed exceptional precious variety".

       Because the flower shape resembles the green Cymbidium faberi "Jipin" (another famous Cymbidium faberi): the three outer petals are rounded, with a dragon-swallowing tongue. Although it is a red shell, the colour can turn to a pure clean green, so it is still a brilliant rarity. Hence it is honoured as "Jiangnan Xin Jipin", which also reflects the habit among Chinese people at the time of esteeming good flowers.   

Looking at its flower quality as a whole, to say it resembles Lao Jipin is slightly far-fetched. Xin Jipin is a notch superior in temperament, and feels even more elegant and graceful.

Jiangnan Xin Jipin has leaves 40-60cm long, leaf width 0.8-1cm, a semi-pendent leaf posture, with the marginal leaves arching and pendent, long slender leaf tips, an emerald green leaf colour, a glossy leaf surface, and a soft, moist leaf texture.

The flower shell has a white base, green belly and red tip, and is a typical red-turning-green shell. There are two types, the "magpie beak" and the "pointed beak".

       The flower stem is slender and round, the flower stalks are light purple, and it bears 6-12 flowers.

       The three outer petals have tightly rolled edges, contracted bases and rounded tips; the stamen-bearing petals are of separate pouches, semi-hard soft stamen-bearing petals, and the front end of the stamen-bearing petals has a forked opening, shaped like a thumb (side view). Commonly called the clasped-fist stamen-bearing petal or the ring stamen-bearing petal (the Yuan character is also such a stamen-bearing petal).

       The tongue petal is a large dragon-swallowing tongue, slightly drooping with the base not exposed, and the red spots on the tongue surface are evenly distributed and bright.

       Medium-tall, thick and round, with very good form, perfectly round. The flower's bearing is extremely well held.

       The petal texture is thick and glutinous, and the petal colour is light emerald green, seeming almost transparent.

       The flowers also open in a sparse and relaxed way, full of charm.

       This species's extremely strong resistance to stress is its advantage. It has fewer leaves than usual, but its special feature is that a large plant with 5 leaves can already bear flowers.

                                    

  Cuimei     Red-turning-green plum petal

 

    Plum petal. The flower scape is light green, 40-50cm tall, the floret stalks are pink-purple, and it bears 8-14 flowers. The three outer petals have long feet and large round heads, with a small pointed tip at the petal end, a glutinous texture and thick flesh, and a finely contracted base. The two lateral sepals are in a straight-line shoulder, with semi-hard hooded stamen-bearing petals, and the five petals are in separate pouches. The lip is a dragon-swallowing tongue, and the tongue surface has bright red spots. The flower quality is well-formed, and it is listed among the "new eight varieties". It is a fine red-turning-green plum petal.

    According to the book "Orchid Splendour Record", Cuimei did not cross to Japan, so there are no re-exported seedlings. It is also cultivated only in places such as Wuxi and Yixing in Jiangsu. It cannot be said to be widely circulated given how large the country's planting area is.

    Opinions differ on when Cuimei was discovered. Some say before the War of Resistance Against Japan, others say in the late 1920s. Searching through old and new orchid books yields no reliable record, but the earliest account can be seen in "A Brief History of Orchids", produced by the Hangzhou Cymbidium faberi grower Cui Yiting. The author cannot determine the exact date either.

 

 

Loumei     Green-shell type lotus-form narcissus petal  

 

In the middle of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty it was selected by a person surnamed Lou of Shaoxing, hence named Loumei. According to another legend, the host at the time was entertaining guests in the orchid hall, and after the banquet, as he saw the guests to the door, it happened that a pot of orchids burst into bloom, so the host drew the guests back inside to admire it, naming it "Liumei" (staying the plum), which was later changed to "Loumei".

"Loumei" has long been highly esteemed in orchid-growing circles, and it is thought that only this flower can rival "Da Yipin". "Loumei" has a leaf posture mixing semi-pendent and arching-pendent, with the widest leaf reaching 0.8cm and the leaf length reaching about 55cm. "An Illustrated Appreciation Guide to Famous and Precious Chinese Orchids" considers this species to have "medium-short leaves. Arching-pendent." In fact the grass leaves do not appear especially short. The leaf colour is emerald green with a bright sheen, and the leaf surface has a U-shaped deep groove, with the U-shaped groove of the basal leaves even more pronounced. The leaf margins have fine teeth, the lateral veins are obvious, the leaf tips taper smoothly, and the leaf sheaths are slender, tall and round-headed. The basal leaves are hard in texture, curved and pendent with a small degree of droop; although the plant form is slender, it combines hardness and softness. After the leaf buds emerge from the sheath they are pale white-green, with the upper part greener, and at the bud tip an indistinct faint unusual colour can be seen. The flower bud is pale white-green, with fine light purple-red vein lines reaching the top, the vein spacing is wide, and between the veins fine small light purple-red spots can be seen. The sheath edge has a broad, slightly thinner white sandy border. The flower stem is a "lamp-wick stalk", rising above the leaves, bearing 6-9 flowers, up to 11 on a strong plant, with the buds arranged sparsely and the small bracts slender. The stem, small bracts, replacement and flower are all one emerald green colour. The three outer petals are broad and large with large heads, pointed tips and finely contracted bases, possessing the contracted-base flared-corner form. The texture is glutinous and moist yet shows thick flesh, with level shoulders, the main petal slanting upright and covering above, and the five petals in separate cases. The stamen-bearing petals are light soft hooded silkworm-moth type, the tongue is a large round spreading tongue, and the red spots on the tongue surface are striking; after long opening the tongue tip curls back. The flower colour is emerald green and handsome, the petal surface like waxed, full of spirit, and it does not lose its form after long opening.

   The greatest characteristic of "Loumei" is that it does not show "slipping" [fading]. Although the stamen-bearing petal has only slight staminody, it holds well, which is also very rare. In appreciating "Loumei" I think there are two more outstanding points of appreciation: first, its flower colour, which among green Cymbidium faberi belongs to the kind that is very pure and clean green; second, the red spots on the tongue are very brilliant, making the contrast of the whole flower especially strong. "Loumei" is a rare lotus-form narcissus among Cymbidium faberi flowers.

Rongmei Red-shell type plum petal 

 

 Characteristics: leaf posture semi-pendent, leaf width 0.8cm, leaf length about 35-40cm, leaf texture thick, leaf groove relatively deep. The flower scape rises above the leaves, the flower stalks are green at the base with pink-purple, the three outer petals have long feet and round heads, the stamen-bearing petals are in separate pouches, semi-hard hooded, with a small ruyi tongue. The flower colour is emerald green, and it is one of the eight new varieties of Cymbidium faberi flowers.

   "A Brief History of Orchids": "A new variety of the early Republic. Cultivated by Rong Wenqing of Wuxi. Three petals with long feet and round heads, glutinous texture and thick flesh, separate pouches with semi-hard hooded stamen-bearing petals, sometimes with joined bases, round tongue, green colour and level shoulders, with a thick, long stalk. In the winter of the sixth year Wang Changyou brought two small plants to Hangzhou and exchanged them at Jiufeng Pavilion for the spring orchid Kui character." A black-and-white photograph is attached, inscribed: "Rongmei, also called Xiding, obtained and cultivated by Mr. Rong Wenqing of Wuxi in the first year of Xuantong."

  "Continued Record of Orchid Harmony": "Rongmei is a new red-turning-green variety. The flower emerges from the hole and opens. Tightly rolled edges, thick flesh, round heads and contracted bases, handsome colour and level shoulders, stamen-bearing petals split at the head and joined at the back, ruyi tongue, incomparably radiant. When in bloom, place it in the shade; never let it be exposed to wind or sun, only then can you see a good flower. Moreover, do not touch it. The grass is tall with a ringed foot. Obtained by Mr. Rong Wenqing of Wuxi in the early Republic."

 

 

Duanmei Red-turning-green shell type plum petal

 

According to "A Brief History of Orchids": in the second year of the Republic (1913) it was selected by Lu Changshou of Hangzhou and sold to Wu Enyuan to raise. By 1919 it flowered again, opening 10 flowers, with a well-formed flower appearance, and the Orchid King of Jiangnan personally named it "Duanmei".

       Duanmei - Characteristics:

Three petals with round heads, tightly rolled edges and green colour, level shoulders, separate pouches or split-head joined-back, silkworm-moth hooded stamen-bearing petals, and a large tongue. The flowers are arranged rather densely. It is listed as one of the new eight varieties and is a famous variety among Cymbidium faberi.

Leaves 40-50cm long, 1-1.4cm wide, thick in texture, with broad leaf width, similar to Chengmei, and a semi-pendent leaf posture, quite beautiful. 

The flower scape is slender and upright, rising above the leaves. The three outer petals have short feet and round heads, with tightly rolled petal edges, and the two lateral sepals extend levelly in a straight-line shoulder. The inner whorl petals are silkworm-moth hooded stamen-bearing petals, well-rounded and smooth, sheltering the fragrant column. The lip is a short but large ruyi tongue, and the tongue surface is adorned with brilliant red spots. The flower colour is emerald green, and the flower quality is well-formed; it can be ranked first among the "eight new varieties of Cymbidium faberi flowers", and is a rare and precious variety of red-turning-green plum petal.