What Paphs?

[soltrad]

I am growing about 20 paphs (i believe to be P.wentworthianum) in pots. I recently noticed that some of them have mottled leaves while others are just plain. Could someone explain this apparent descrepency of known physical features of Paphs especially, wents?

[jerrymeola]

paphs are the one family of orchids that has not been solved for mericloning. all your plants are seed grown and seeds can vary greatly.

I am surprised to see leaf moddling and lack of moddling in the same group. How certain are you of no cantamination in the seed propogation. It is possible that the variation is going to even out as the plants get older. Juveniles will often show more variation that levels out at maturity.

I admire your patience since paphs can take 9 years to flower from seed.

[kmarch]

Dear soltrad,

Are all 20 of your Paphs wentworthianum? Also, are they mature plants or seedlings?

If they are mature plants and some had mottled leaves while others has solid green, I'd suspect that the green leaved ones weren't wentworthianum and were mistagged. the only wat to confirm would be to bloom them.

Some variation can occur in the leaf patterns of mottled leafed Paphs, but the degree of variation is less pronounced in species than in hybrids. Hybrids have a larger gene pool and therefore more variation.

I've read nothing specifically on mottling variation in the leaves of wentworthianum. Any taxonomists out there?

-Kevin