Characteristics of the superior 'Yuán Méi' cultivar of Cymbidium goeringii

Petal type: Plum petal

History: In 1979, Zhu Shuiting of Lizhu, Shaoxing, purchased unnamed small seedlings from an orchid enthusiast in Wuxi, and they bloomed 10 years later. Because the old cultivar Cuiyun (Shangpin Yuanmei) had been lost, this one was used to replace it.

Overview: The three outer petals are round-headed, tightly edged, and constricted at the base; the petal flesh is thick; the labellum is a soft silkworm-moth shen (soft incurved) type, with a red blush on the shen, and a Liu Hai tongue. The flower has level shoulders, is green in color, with a flower scape, and a neat flower form. The leaves are semi-drooping, the leaf width is broad, the bud color is pale red, and the plant multiplies easily.

Flower type: Large plum-petal flower. The three outer petals are narrow at the base and round at the tip, constricted at the base with rounded angles, in a straight-line shoulder, with extremely tight edges, an inner soft pouch shen (incurved center), a large spread tongue, and a tall flower scape,

Leaf type: The plant form is tall and broad, pale green in color, a vigorous plant type.

Xin Shangpin Yuanmei was selected by Zhu Jianhua in 1979. According to Shaoxing Orchid Culture, the name is Shangpin Yuanmei. Characteristics: The three outer petals are round-headed, tightly edged, and constricted at the base; the petal flesh is thick; the shen is a palm-leaf-fan type; the lip is a large Liu Hai tongue; the flower has flying shoulders, is emerald green in color, with a tall flower scape, and a neat flower form; the leaves are semi-drooping, the leaf width is broad, the bud color is pale red, and the plant does not multiply easily. According to Lanhui Baojian: The leaf posture is semi-drooping, the flower scape is over 10CM tall, the flower stalk is light purple, with the top node turning green; the three outer petals are round-headed, thick in texture and tightly edged, narrowly constricted at the base, with the main petal in an overhanging-cap shape, and the two lateral sepals extending flat in a straight line; the petals form a soft pouch shen, the lip is a Liu Hai tongue, and the tongue surface is adorned with two bright red dots. Setting aside the differences in description arising from individual perceptions (and of course differences in blooming time), the Shangpin Yuanmei and Xin Shangpin Yuanmei referred to here are the same flower, namely the one selected by Zhu Jianhua in 1979.