I would like to present next plant - Paphiopedilum wenshanense.

Paph. wenshanense is endemic to southern China and found in southeast Yunnan (Wenshan country).

This species was described by Zhong Jian Liu & Jian Yong Zhang in 2000. Some people believe that it was previously known as conco-bellatulum.

Previous Awards:

There are 34 awards in OrchidPro including different varieties (first award dated August 2005, latest - December 2019 (as at June 2020)). You can find little variation within sizes and shapes.

Description:

Our candidate has one flower on one inflorescence.

Flower Measurements:

NS H - 8.0 cm; NS V - N/A;

Dorsal Sep. W - 4.9 cm; Dorsal Sep. L - N/A;

Petal W - 4.0 cm; Petals L - 3.8 cm;

Lat/Sepal W - N/A; Lat/Sepal L - N/A;

Lip/Pouch W - 2.0 cm; Lip/Pouch L - 4.2 cm.

Judging by the third image (with the ruler), NS looks more that 8 cm but I would stay with the numbers received from exhibitor.

Judges' Comments

Laura Newton

Hi Sergey,

Six of the nine awards have come from my center, two of which belong to me, so we see plenty of good and plenty of not so good ones. The form of this flower is probably the most symmetrical compared to the prior awards, and the segments are well-placed. It also presents a much rounder flower than most of the previous awards. It is hard to see how much cupping there might be as there is not a straight on side shot, but from what I can see it looks to be one of the flatter examples. The flower color and markings are extremely uniform. The flowers are well-balanced and shows the least amount if fenestration.

I would score this flower as I see it in the photos, between 82-85 points depending on the cupping and the substance and texture.

Al Messina

One large, staked, flat, not quite round (no vertical given. My computer screen measure (8.9 x 8.0 cm) flower presenting with quite nice petals and dorsal sepal (vertical measure not given). Pouch OK. Punctate, sharply marginated stippling adds interest. Flower better than many, if not most, prior awards. 85 point 'Crystelle' over-pointed in my opinion. I discount staking in this situation -- not a true judging wherein staking is important. AM flower, in my opinion, perhaps 81-82.

Thanks for allowing me to participate.

Gina Plude

The candidate plant bears the closest resemblance to Paph. wenshanense 'Fajen's Orchids' in terms of base color and size & distribution of spotting. In general it is within range for natural spread for other simililarly marked examples. I am not seeing anything especially outstanding in the candidate that would incline me to nominate it to be scored.

Deb Bodei

Hi Sergey,

Paphiopedilum wenshanense

General Observations:

The form of the candidate is very pleasing with nice symmetry aside from a few lower spots concentrated on the one side of the pouch.

Specific Considerations

- I did include awards outside of AOS since many of the recent awards were overseas and didn't want to exclude them. I did not look at the conco-bellatulum since this is a species different from that man-made hybrid even though it is hard to tell them apart. Some taxonomists believe wenshanense is the naturally occurring hybrid of the same cross.

- Aside from a slight reflex in the petal on the left, the entire shape of the flower is nice and gives a full, round appearance and not the droopy-dog look common for this species.

- Spotting is attractive.

- The flower was not presented in the best way with an award stick and black string. It can only be photographed from the front as a result. The plant actually looks like it is leaning backwards which would make for an awkward award photo.

Recommendation for nomination:

I would not recommend this plant for a flower award and feel bad about it because care in the staking would have made the difference for me in nominating it.

Thank you for considering my commentary,

Deb

John Sullivan

Sergey - I appreciate all the work you have putting into these exercises, and thanks for including me

Paphiopedilum wenshanense

This flower, though we are missing some of its measurements, still has enough merit for me to nominate it. Our candidate is somewhat larger than the recently awarded ‘Benchmark’ (interestingly). The curvature of all three sepals is balanced and pleasing. They are also relatively flat.

Some of the awards to P. wenshanense outride of the AOS system lead me to believe that we may not have seen the best here yet. If I were to score this plant, it would probably be in the 78-79 range.

Bob Winkley

Good afternoon Sergey -

First - this is a charming flower and seems a decent representative of the species. The segments are nice and flat (unlike several of the awards out there), the spotting clear and clean, and the overall size decent.

For form, the overall conformation looks very good and the segments nicely balanced.

I'm having difficulty deciding if the base color of the front of the flower is as uneven as it appears or if that is a function of the photograph. The best versions of this species have a very even base color - either cream or a hue of yellow. If this lack of consistent base color is indeed accurate then I do not find it pleasing in terms of award quality. This can also be said about the spotting - while the spots on the petals and sepal may be a bit sparser than some awards they are fairly consistent in size and reasonably well distributed. This factor draws attention to the pouch in that its spotting is very sparse and uneven and therefore not in harmony with the other segments.

Personally, I wouldn't nominate this plant on this flowering however if it were nominated I would likely score it as a mid-range HCC. The color and spotting issues (if they are as I perceive them) really keep it from moving into the AM range for me.

All the best -

Bob W.

Carrie Buchman

Nice flower with distinct spotting. Spotting is not symmetrical but is ascetically pleasing – well spaced with each spot standing on its own with clean margins. The spotting on the staminode is a nice addition, offsetting the pale golden yellow of the central staminode. Staminode, pouch and dorsal are nicely aligned. It’s a nice size flower (8 cm NS); currently awarded AMs NS ranges from 6.5 -7.3 cm. Petals are also wider and longer than the awarded AMs. I’d nominate it for a Quality award.

Mary Ann Denver

Hi Sergey,

Here are my observations/comments for this weeks virtual judging of Paphiopedilum wenshanense

The one large relatively flat, symmetrical flower is nicely balanced by a well proportioned dorsal that maintains its semi-circular shape as it dips behind the full well held petals, the pouch frames the yellow staminode beautifully

I really like the color of this flower and the even distribution of oxblood spots add to the overall appeal

I would score our candidate an AM (82-84 point range)

Thank you,

Mary Ann

Sergey Skoropad

Paphiopedilum wenshanense

I like this flower. Size is large – 8 cm NS (maybe even larger), this is one of the largest flowers in Award database (most of them have size from 6.5 to 7.5 cm NS). Flower is fairly full and flat. Compare to other awarded Paph. wenshanense, this one has very balanced form. Color is nice and pleasant, distribution of the spots are even. Presentation of the flower is not perfect. I would score this Paph. an AM 80-82 point range.

Sergey

Exhibitor - Helen Hersh, PA