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Originally Posted by tizzycat  my paph. spicerianum var. giganteum ... I really don't know what difference the var. giganteum makes. |
The name "giganteum" means "large." It comes from the same root that gives us the English words "gigantic" and "giant." I'm not sure of the legitimacy of this varietal name though. I found a couple of instances where Pfitzer's Reichenbach's initials (Pfitz. and Rchb.f) appeared after the name but without a year. I've never been able to find a published, taxonomical description bearing that varietal name so I suspect it is not a valid varietal name at all, perhaps just a horticultural variety in which case it should not be expressed as a varietal name.
At any rate, the defining difference is the size. Giganteum is bigger in both flower and plant size.