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Thread: Slang/Shorthand "Orchid Speak" -- or "What on Earth does this term mean?"

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  1. #1
    Favorite Orchid(s)
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    Default Slang/Shorthand "Orchid Speak" -- or "What on Earth does this term mean?"

    Slang/term
    Meaning
    AM “Award of Merit”; award indicating flowers of very high quality; may be seen following the species or grex name
    AOS abbreviation for the American Orchid Society or Australian Orchid Society (there may be many more)
    balanced fertilizer fertilizer in which the N-P-K ratio is the same for all 3 (for example 10-10-10)
    Bare root orchid without a pot or any media; state in which some people ship orchids in order to minimize shipping costs (among other reasons)
    Blast or
    Bud blast
    the sudden demise of a flower bud, typically characterized by a developing bud shriveling and/or yellowing
    BS blooming size
    bulldog paph hybrids w/ large, round heavy-substance large-dorsal sepal flowers (aka complex hybrids)
    cane pb of dens which tend to be tall/long/cane like
    CCM and
    CCE
    Certificate of Cultural Merit and Certificate of Cultural Excellence (the 2nd being the higher award); award given to robust, well flowered specimen plant
    cfl compact fluorescent light
    chid orchid
    clonal name name following the species or grex name to indicate a particularly noteworthy specimen; all clones of such a specimen will bear that same clonal name; this name is always written in single quotation marks – not the normal double marks
    CMV cymbidium mosaic virus
    coir medium made up of coconut fibers
    compact size term referring to plants which will be anywhere from 6-12 inches (15.24-30cm) in height from the base of the pb to the tip of the longest leaf in a mature plant
    compot “community pot”; pot containing many seedlings
    cross refers to the breeding or “crossing” of two orchids
    crown top of an orchid stem; especially that of monopodial orchids like phals
    crown rot bacterial or fungal disease which manifests in the plants crown
    cultivar see “clonal name”
    div division
    dorsal topmost sepal (commonly, though erroneously, also called a “petal”) - most often used in discussions regarding slipper orchids
    epiphyte a plant which grows completely upon another plant, using that plant for support—typically so it can grow in a sunnier location
    flask glass jar/container used as a “nursery” for the development of very small/young seedlings
    flasking process of preparing a flask and “seeding it” with either orchid seeds or protocorms for development into seedlings
    FCC First Class Certificate: award indicating flowers of the highest quality; may be seen following the species or grex name
    genera not a slang term but rather the correct plural of genus (there is no such word as "genuses" )
    G/H or gh greenhouse
    grex the group or hybrid name given to the progeny of a certain cross
    hard cane dens dens typically with harder, thinner canes; these form long spikes with many flowers at the top of the cane
    HCC Highly Commended Certificate; award indicating flowers of high quality; may be seen following the species or grex name
    HCM Horticultural Certificate of Merit; awarded to a well grown and well flowered plant
    horticultural grade reference to products safe for use with plants (example – charcoal made for use in grills is NOT horticultural grade)
    keiki properly pronounced KAY-kee; a small plantlet formed on the "mother" plant; a form of asexual reproduction
    lip one of 6 prominent floral structures, this modified petal is often (but not always) larger or vastly different in appearance from the other petals or from the sepals
    lithophyte plant which grows on rocks or rocky outcroppings (like cliff sides)
    LS or
    ls
    leaf span; the span of two adjacent leaves from leaf tip to leaf tip (often seen on vendors sites carrying Paphs and Phrags)
    mealies mealybugs (insect pest covered w/ a white cottony substance)
    mini size related term, properly only referring to those orchids that as mature plants are no more than 6 inches (15.24cm) in total height from the base of the pb to the tip of the longest leaf; NOTE: many vendors erroneously apply this term to plants that are much taller (not true minis)
    monopodial literally “one foot”; growth habit in orchids like phals and vandas which grow continually as a single upright stem
    NBS near blooming size
    Noid or NOID or NoID no ID; any orchid whose correct species or hybrid name is unknown
    NPK or N-P-K the 3 main elements found in fertilizers: nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium
    ORSV odontoglossum ringspot virus
    pb or p-bulb pseudobulb; the rounded/bulbous-shaped stem found in some orchid genera (like catts or cyms)
    pot bound plant whose roots have completely filled its pot – often the roots completely circle the inside of the pot
    potting up moving the plant up to the next larger plant size when repotting
    primary hybrid hybrid resulting from the crossing of two species
    protocorm undifferentiated mass of tissue formed from an orchid seed or from meristematic tissue (used in cloning process) that can give rise to new plants
    RH or R/H relative humidity
    RHS Royal Horticultural Society
    RO reverse osmosis (a method of water purification)
    root bound see “pot bound”
    sdlg seedling
    sepals the 3 outer “petals” (greatly simplified definition -- botanically there is really is more to it)
    s/h or SH semihydroponic (a method of orchid culture)
    sheath a leaf like "envelope" through which flower buds emerge; common with cattleyas
    slipper refers to paphs, phrags, or cyps due to their “slipper” shaped lip
    soft cane den
    (nobile type)
    dens w/ typically thicker, softer (almost succulent like) canes; these form clusters of flowers (often of 1-3 in #) on very short spikes &/or keikis at the nodes along the cane
    specimen or
    specimen-size
    “large” multigrowth plant (*Note: Large in this case is referring not to size of individual growths but to the entire mass/multitude of growths taken as a whole and is a relative term dependent on the size/type of plant -- for some of the truly tiny minis, a mass the size of a teacup could very well be “specimen-size.” )
    sphag sphagnum moss
    sphag ‘n bag individual ICU devised to save an ailing/expiring orchid by means of enclosing it in plastic with damp sphagnum moss
    spike the flower stalk of an orchid;
    also the act of forming a flower stalk
    sponge rock perlite
    standard size term referring to mature plants which will be over 12 inches (30.5cm) tall from base of the pb to the tip of the longest leaf
    steppers plant growth habit in which each new pb is above the height of the previous pb (like the steps on a staircase); not a commonly used term
    tc tissue culture; method of cloning a plant
    TMV tobacco mosaic virus
    toad see “bulldog”; another term used for complex paph hybrids due to common presences of “warts” on sepals/petals
    UFO Unidentified Flowering Orchid (a nontraditional equivalent to NOID that some folks favor as an amusing, whimsical alternative to NOID)
    var. variety/variant (indicates a different, naturally occurring color variation of a species)
    weekly/weakly term pertaining to a generally advised watering/fertilizing schedule for orchids
    Common Shorthand for Particular Orchid Genera
    asco ascocentrum
    bulbo bulbophyllum
    catt cattleya
    cym cymbidium
    cyp cypripedium
    den dendrobium
    drac dracula
    enc encyclia
    epi epidendrum
    masdie masdevallia
    max maxillaria
    onc oncidium
    paph paphiopedilum
    phal phalanopsis
    phrag phragmipedium
    pleuro pleurothallid
    *Last update: 04.April.2013
    Last edited by Brutal_Dreamer; February 18th, 2012 at 11:08 AM. Reason: updated first post

  2. #2
    Real Name
    Bob Benditzky
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    Windowsill
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    Phal's, Paph's, Encyclia's
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    Default

    Great Info!! Thanks!

  3. #3
    Real Name
    Branka
    My Grow Area
    Under Lights.
    Favorite Orchid(s)
    Small species...
    Join Date
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    Slovenia
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    Default

    Great info indeed, I learned something new...I especially like the last one...UFO

  4. #4
    Real Name
    Zainal Abidin Bin Othman
    Favorite Orchid(s)
    Huntleya, Bollea, Cochleanthes
    Join Date
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    Melaka, West Malaysia
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    Default

    Thanks something that I can learn from this thread.

  5. #5
    Real Name
    Carina
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    Default

    Exactly what a newbie like me needs.

    I eventually figured out what G/H stands for *duh* but what is R/H?

  6. #6
    Real Name
    jason
    My Grow Area
    Porch/Patio.
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    Florida Panhandle
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Carie View Post
    Exactly what a newbie like me needs. I eventually figured out what G/H stands for *duh* but what is R/H?
    Relative humidity?Posted via Mobile Device

  7. #7
    Real Name
    Yew-Sung
    My Grow Area
    Outside 24/7
    Favorite Orchid(s)
    cattleyas, vandaceous,paphios
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    Default

    Thanks Pavel. This should prove very helpful. Hope others will add on to the list.

  8. #8
    Real Name
    jason
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    Porch/Patio.
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    Default

    I love that you threw UFO in! I was only trying to be a smarta$$
    Posted via Mobile Device

  9. #9
    Real Name
    Angie
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    Windowsill
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    Location
    New York
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    Default

    Great thread! How about BS (blooming size)?

  10. #10
    Favorite Orchid(s)
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    Quote Originally Posted by ang709 View Post
    Great thread! How about BS (blooming size)?
    Good grief! How did I manage to forget THAT one! Oy! Thanks Angie!

    Quote Originally Posted by cakedaddy View Post
    I love that you threw UFO in! I was only trying to be a smarta$$Posted via Mobile Device
    Yeah, I know.

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