Analysis and Thoughts on the Market Release of Artificially Hybridized Orchid Seedlings

In recent years, tissue culture and hybridization techniques have gradually improved, allowing orchids to be propagated rapidly. Here is a brief introduction to the concepts of tissue culture and hybridization. Tissue culture is equivalent to cloning: no matter how many clones are produced, their genes are almost identical. Hybridization (including self-pollination) creates new varieties, and their genes differ from both the father plant and the mother plant. This includes the fact that every seedling grown from seed has completely different genes, comparable to multiple births, which may look alike but are certainly not the same person!

So here is the problem. For example, if seeds from a cross between Cheng Mei and Da Yi Pin are sown and countless seedlings come up, these countless seedlings should all be different yet similar. Will merchants sell them as multiple varieties? Or will they sell them as just one variety? Take Jianlan Hongyue as an example. Why do so many different flower forms appear? In fact, they are not one variety; it is simply that their father and mother plants are the same! Conversely, if you see a variety appear on the market and then many similar but not identical flower forms show up, you can also guess that it may be an artificially hybridized variety.

So for the hybrid seedlings now on the market, if two plants with good flower forms that look very similar are selected from the same batch, how should they be named? Would they be defined as two varieties? And how should their future circulation in the market be judged?