Paphiopedilum helenae blooming

[cxcanh]

I love orchid in general and Paph. in particular.
I have full Vietnamess Paphiopedilum species (more than 20 species)
This picture I make this morning.

[Phyrex]

That's simply gorgeous!!

[BKirk783]

Very nice. I have heard that this orchid is illegal in the US unless purchased from some specific supplier. Does anyone know what that is all about? Just curious. I've never seen one for sale.

[orchidlady]

Very nice. I have heard that this orchid is illegal in the US unless purchased from some specific supplier. Does anyone know what that is all about? Just curious. I've never seen one for sale.

The proplems in the U.S. are due to the government interpretation of CITES requirements. It is my understanding that the Vietnamese government has not "officially" released any legal helenae (and a others like hangianum). Because of this, the U.S. doesn't recognize any of these plants in the U.S. as being legal, even if the breeder has paperwork showing the plants are not from wild populations. Other countries do not have the same interpretation, so these plants can be imported. I have not heard of anyone being able to legally sell them, but it could be possible if confiscated plants were given to a plant sanctuary and then propagated and allowed to be sold.

Susan

[Brutal_Dreamer]

The proplems in the U.S. are due to the government interpretation of CITES requirements. It is my understanding that the Vietnamese government has not "officially" released any legal helenae (and a others like hangianum). Because of this, the U.S. doesn't recognize any of these plants in the U.S. as being legal, even if the breeder has paperwork showing the plants are not from wild populations. Other countries do not have the same interpretation, so these plants can be imported. I have not heard of anyone being able to legally sell them, but it could be possible if confiscated plants were given to a plant sanctuary and then propagated and allowed to be sold.

Susan

We had a speaker at our society who gets his orchids from growers in Hawaii. He had just returned from a trip and had photos of many crosses that were being maid with helenae or hangianum. They way they are able to sell them in the US is that instead of using the names 'helenae' or 'hangianum', they simply use the letter 'h'. So, if you want to buy these in the US, simply look for that small letter in the name. Don't know if they were selling any of these as species, but they were selling the hybrids/crosses.

Cheers,
BD

[orchidlady]

We had a speaker at our society who gets his orchids from growers in Hawaii. He had just returned from a trip and had photos of many crosses that were being maid with helenae or hangianum. They way they are able to sell them in the US is that instead of using the names 'helenae' or 'hangianum', they simply use the letter 'h'. So, if you want to buy these in the US, simply look for that small letter in the name. Don't know if they were selling any of these as species, but they were selling the hybrids/crosses.

Cheers,
BD

Another way they get around it with hangianum hybrids is to say that they are emersonii hybrids. Emersonii is legal and looks similar, however, it is usually fairly obvious to someone who is familiar with the two species.

Susan

[etex]

Wow! What a beautiful flower. The color looks so fresh. Thanks for sharing.

[BKirk783]

Interesting and good to know. I'm all for protection of wild populations of orchids and any other plants or animals that are threatened.

Brandon

[Alplily NH]

Simple elegance... just lovely! Nice growing! Interesting chat, too!

[EMos]

Love the flower, a pure natural beauty; so much in contradiction with all the red tapes and legislation loopholes! that's unfortunately part of the orchid world...