How to Identify Orchid Varieties? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Methods

There are many varieties of orchids, and different orchids, because of their different forms, also give off different qualities. The orchids commonly cultivated in China include Cymbidium goeringii (spring orchid), Cymbidium faberi (Faber's cymbidium), Cymbidium ensifolium (sword-leaf cymbidium), Cymbidium sinense (Chinese cymbidium), Cymbidium kanran (cold orchid), and so on. Here the editor gives a brief introduction to orchid varieties.

Classification of Orchid Varieties

1. Cymbidium goeringii (spring orchid): The roots of the spring orchid are fleshy and white. The leaves are narrowly linear, about 20 cm to 25 cm long, with fine sharp serrations along the edges and prominent veins. Each stem bears 1 to 2 flowers, yellow-green in color, with a delicate fragrance. It blooms in early spring from February to March. There are many varieties, usually classified by petal shape into types such as plum-petal, narcissus-petal, lotus-petal, butterfly-petal, and plain-heart petal. Famous varieties include Xiaoda Mei, Song Mei, Lvyun, Wang Zi, and Zhengtong He.

2. Cymbidium faberi (Faber's cymbidium): The roots of Cymbidium faberi are fleshy and pale yellow. The leaves are linear, more upright and thicker and longer than those of the spring orchid, with rough leaf margins. One stem bears 5 to 13 flowers, pale yellow, with a greenish-white lip petal marked with red-purple spots. The flowers are very fragrant, with a flowering period from April to May. Famous varieties include Cheng Mei, Songchun, Dang Zi, and Longchang Su.

3. Cymbidium ensifolium (sword-leaf cymbidium): The leaves of Cymbidium ensifolium are broadly linear, 30 cm to 60 cm long, mostly upright, with smooth leaf margins. One stem bears 6 to 12 flowers. The flowers are yellow-green to pale yellow-brown, with dark purple stripes. The fragrance is very strong, with a flowering period from July to September. Famous varieties include Shisan Taibao, Longyan Suxin, Tiegu Su, and Yinbian Dagong.

4. Cymbidium sinense (Chinese cymbidium): The leaves of Cymbidium sinense are 50 cm to 100 cm long and up to 3 cm wide, smooth, with pointed tips and an upright habit. The flower stem is about 60 cm tall, and one stem bears 5 to 10 flowers, with petals mostly marked with purple-brown stripes. The flowering period is from winter to early spring, and the flowers are fragrant. Famous varieties include Lvmo, Baimo, Yingwu Mo, and Huizhou Mo.

5. Cymbidium kanran (cold orchid): The leaves of Cymbidium kanran are narrow and upright. The flower stem is slender and upright, bearing 5 to 9 flowers. The flowers are small with narrow petals, in colors such as yellow, white, blue-green, red, and purple, with a delicate fragrance. The flowering period is from late autumn to early spring. Famous varieties include Yinling, Cuiyu, Ziyun, and Liming.

Identification of Orchid Varieties

1. Leaf shape: In the season without flowers, the main basis for people to identify famous orchid varieties is leaf shape, including leaf buds, plant form, and so on. The color of orchid buds when they emerge from the soil has a certain reference value for appreciating orchid varieties, and the bud stage needs to be carefully observed. Generally speaking, if the new buds are white, white-green, or green, the spring orchid is generally a plain-heart variety, and Cymbidium faberi is mostly a plain-heart or green Cymbidium faberi. If the bud tip has a white rice-grain-like “white peak,” it may produce a fine flower. Traditional famous orchid varieties are mostly relatively stable, and their leaf shapes also follow certain patterns. Through long-term practice, orchid artists can generally identify a variety by eye alone for varieties with obvious leaf shape characteristics, such as the upright-leaved Wang Zi, Taisu, and Lao Jipin, the ring-drooping-leaved Song Mei and Da Yipin, and the fat ring-leaved Da Fugui and twisted-leaved Lvyun. However, because orchids are grown in different environments, their leaves are not the same year after year, so orchid artists, while observing the leaves, often also need to look at the flower buds to identify the variety.

2. Flower buds: Traditional famous orchid varieties not only have their own characteristics in leaf shape, but their flower buds are also full of distinctive features. Therefore, when identifying them, people should look at both the leaf shape and the flower buds. Regarding the identification of flower buds, predecessors summarized the “nine shapes and eight forms” of Cymbidium and Cymbidium faberi head shapes and the “five gates and eight forms” of Cymbidium faberi small inflorescence arrangement.

3. Bloom presentation: The most direct and effective way to identify Cymbidium and Cymbidium faberi varieties is to look at their bloom presentation, which is also the main reason why introduced varieties should be introduced when in flower. Generally speaking, as long as the bloom presentation is up to standard, the variety can be identified once the flower is seen.

Identification of Orchid Quality

1. Identifying orchid quality from petal shape: First, the inner petals have hard points and are fleshy. Second, the front ends of the main petal and side petals are rounded and form a pouch. Third, the lip petal is stretched straight and does not curl, or curls only slightly. For lotus-type petal orchids, the main appreciation point is that the middle and front parts of the petals widen and the edges are tight and form a pouch, shaped like a lotus rhizome petal.

2. Identifying orchid quality from color: Orchid colors are rich and mixed. But a good orchid color will highlight one main color and be clearly distinguished from other colors, and among these, main colors of red, yellow, and white are relatively high-grade. Among reds, bright red, water red, and pink are especially good. Among yellows, chicken-fat yellow or cauliflower yellow are the best. Among whites, soft white with elegant petal veining is the best.

3. Identifying orchid quality from the degree of plainness: A good orchid should have no mottled spots. In nature, orchids with mottled-colored flowers are relatively more common, while plain orchids are especially rare. The traditional famous Yunnan orchid varieties Daxuesu and Xiaoxuesu are rare varieties among plain orchids. There is also the plain-flowered variety of Cymbidium lianpan (Lianban orchid), found only in western Yunnan, China, which is pure white like mutton-fat jade and has a clear, far-reaching fragrance, making it an especially high-grade orchid among pure plain orchids.

4. Identifying orchid quality from fragrance: When buying orchids, whether they are high-grade depends on one prerequisite: whether the flowers are fragrant when they bloom. Orchids are the king of fragrances, the finest fragrance under heaven, and the ancestor of fragrance, but some varieties bloom without containing fragrance. If you buy an orchid with fragrance, then you have bought the “king fragrance,” the “finest fragrance,” and the “ancestor of fragrance,” which also means you have bought a high-grade orchid.