Detailed Introduction to the Cymbidium 'Guifei Zuijiu' Variety

Lineage: Colored flower

Grade: Upper-middle grade

Status: A fine red-lipped variety.

Alias: Zui Yangfei

History: Unknown.

Foliage: Leaf posture semi-arching, plant form elegant. Each plant has 2-4 leaves, leaf length 20-32cm, width 1.0-1.3cm. Leaf color glossy yellow-green.

Flower appearance: The three outer sepals pale green, the petals pale red, the lip vivid red. Flower color contrast is superb.

Commentary: This flower is true to its name. When it first opens, the two petals have not yet spread; only at peak bloom do they become prominent, the two petals revealing a pale sunset-red hue, like the slightly flushed cheeks of a beauty, with the red lip in the center dazzling to the eye - a marvel to behold.

 

Strictly speaking, 'Guifei Zuijiu' is not a true 'red plain' variety; its flower lip is not a solid color, and there remains in the center of the lip a faint, elusive baseline that lingers, so it is more appropriate to classify it under the 'colored flower' lineage. Yet this does not diminish the flower's elegance and brilliance.

Her crowning excellence lies precisely in her marvelous center. First, the petals: a faint sunset-red shows through the pale green, running straight through both front and back - one glance tells you the beauty is slightly tipsy. Then the flower lip: had it been solid red, it would seem stiff and stagnant; she preserves just the right faint baseline, which seems to let through a trace of vitality, perfectly echoing the slightly flushed cheeks. Because the cheeks and the lip and tongue each retain a little, she reveals her true nature as the drunken consort - unlike a burly man of the northeast, drinking wildly, his whole face flushed crimson.