In this hybrid I mated Coelogyne eberhardtii with an unusual variation of Coelogyne speciosa known informally as Coelogyne speciosa "Green". In Coelogyne speciosa there is an unusually large variation in flower colouring especially but also in flower size, erectness or the degree to which the flowers are pendulous, the flowering size, and length of flowering periods. Coelogyne speciosa "Green" has few flowers but they are particularly open, large and presented on long semi-erect spikes. The flowers on Coelogyne speciosa "Green" are very pale and the "Green" label comes from the fact that its sepals and petals are distinctly light green rather than the more usual slightly muddy green/brown colouring.
This Coelogyne 'Green' is definitely a candidate for some DNA testing to see if it is a different species or just another variation of Coelogyne speciosa. Barbara Gravendeel of Holland did some work in her PhD thesis and recommended several species in the Speciosae group be amalgamated but much more work needs to be done.
As humans we like to put everything into a neat little pigeon hole. The 'splitters' are people who want to separate plant species down to their purest form. The 'lumpers' on the other hand, like a simple life and are happy to let whole lots of similar plants stay in groups together. The plants, of course, don't even know that humans are carrying on like this!
All this creates a problem for breeders. The 'lumpers' would have all hybrids made from the variations of a species named using the original name of the first hybrid ever registered with the original species names. In the 'splitters' view some of these hybrids using species variations could in reality be a new hybrid from a new species and carry a new name of its own to acknowledge that its 'variation' parent was really a new and different species.
I have already registered Coelogyne eberhardtii x Coelogyne speciosa with the RHS as Coelogyne Kirribilli Gladys Davies. Technically and on today's rules this orchid should be labeled as Coelogyne Kirribilli Gladys Davies 'Sally'.
Registration: I have not registered this hybrid with the RHS for the above reasons
Varieties: None known.
Hybrids: None registered
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