The first plant in 2023 is Paphiopedilum Wossner Favourite (Paph. godefroyae x Paph. hangianum).

Paphiopedilum Wossner Favourite was originated and registered by F. Glanz from Germany in 2005.

Paph. godefroyae (God.-Leb.) Stein 1892 is accepted species by WCSP Kew. The native range of this species is Peninsula Thailand.

Paph. hangianum (Perner & Gruss) 1999 is relatively new species and accepted by WCSP Kew. The native range of this species is China (S. Yunnan) to N. Vietnam.

Previous Awards:

There is no AOS awards for this cross.

There are 79 AOS awards for Paph. godefroyae! The latest award - cultivar 'MS Spots' AM/AOS 83 pts granted in Oct. 1, 2022.

There are 9 AOS awards for Paph. hangianum (27 awards total). The latest award - cultivar 'Mahvelous' AM/AOS 81 pts granted in Nov. 20, 2022.

Description:

The candidate has 1 flower on one 9.0 cm staked inflorescence.

Flower Measurements:

NS H - 12.5 cm;                   NS V - 8.5 cm;

Dorsal Sep. W - 6.5 cm;    Dorsal Sep. L - 5.0 cm;

Petal W - 6.0 cm;               Petals L - 6.0 cm;

Lat/Synsepal W - 5.5 cm; Lat/Synsepal L - 5.0 cm;

Lip/Pouch W - 3.0 cm;      Lip/Pouch L - 4.5 cm.

Judges' Comments

Al Messina (Accredited Judge, Northeast Judging Center)

Paphiopedilum Wossner Favourite (Paph. godefroyae x Paph. hangianum):

One relatively large, staked erect, stately flower nicely held on a relatively small plant presenting, with minor exceptions, both form and color significantly better than the only awarded five plants by the German Orchid Society, at least three of which were exhibited by the originator, Franz Glanz.

Slight marginal irregularities, particularly the right(anatomical) petal as well as the cupped and pinched dorsal lowers the score. The originator should be proud of this one. Too bad it can't be mericloned!

Should qualify for a lower to mid AM.

Kristen Mason (Accredited Judge, Cincinnati Judging Center)

I love the fullness and shape of the flowers, especially the petals and pouch.  Pinching on dorsal is not great, but expected given hangianum parent.  Lovely consistent yellow color with nicely contrasting markings that are even and pleasing.  Staminode adds interest.  Shape of petals and pouch are significantly better than either parent. Flat flower.  Size is better than the geometric mean.  Overall beautiful flower that is better than the parents and what you would hope from the cross.  I have seen several flowering of this hybrid.  This is the best example I have seen. I scored this at 78 points.  I suspect in person would add to the substance and texture points and very likely would put this at a low AM.

Pam Noll (Student Judge, Alamo Judging Center)

Paphiopedilum Wossner Favorite

This is a lovely flower, a blend of the best traits of both parents.  The flower is well-carried on the stem, open flat.  The creamy yellow color with cordovan tesselations and fine spotting radiating from the pink staminode to the even margins is pleasing.  The ovoid petals are held almost horizontal in balance with the dorsal sepal, contributing to the round, full appearance of the flower.  The pouch is evenly shaped, unmarked cream with a waxy texture.

Segment measurements are smaller than most Paph. hangianium, but substantially larger  than the average godefroyae.   The inflorescence is slightly bowed, however, the flower segments appear symmetrical from the rear.  I did trial scoring on both score sheets and this flower fell well within the AM range.  It will be interesting to see if this plant can produce two or more flowers on a subsequent blooming.

Pamela Noll

Bill Goldner (Accredited Judge, National Capital Judging Center)

Really like the Paph. Good size and form. Nice markings. AM quality. Dorsal a little hooded. Left petal notched, petals look like the may have been popped back (manipulated). Mid-high AM.

Bill

Leslie Hayes-Cullins (Accredited Judge, Hawaii Judging Center-Hilo)

Paph. Wossner Favorite

 This plant seemed to get good qualities out of its parents. I really like the roundness of the petals combined with color. Wish I could have seen it in natural light to see the yellow better. The left side petal is a little wonkey seem to be a bit more reflexed, kind of throws off the shape. The dorsal sepal is a little more cupped and pinched than I would like but its not a big issue to me. And then let’s talk about size, right where you would think it could be. Overall, I like the appearance and definitely would score it.

Leslie Hayes-Cullin

Olaf Gruss (Expert, Germany)

In Germany 5 plants of this cross were judged. They got 3 silver and 2 bronze medals.

Most of these plants are crosses between hangianum and godefroyae forma leucochilum. The lip is then free of red-brown coloration.

The natural spread was 13 – 15,5 cm wide and 8 – 11 cm long.

The biggest in the judging was Paph. Wössner Favourite ‘Maximilian’ cultivated by Franz Glanz with a rounded flower without any mistakes.

About your plant. It is a nice clone, in Germany perhaps a bronze medal or a silver.

The shape is ok, the coloration very well. Smaller then the German plants.

The dorsal shows the typical tip of this cross, all flower parts are rounded very well.

Best greetings

Olaf

Deb Boersma (Associate judge, Great Lakes Judging Center)

Paphiopedilum Wossner Favourite

What a charming flower and judos to the grower for presenting such a nice plant for discussion. I like the very board petals on this flower, a trait passed on from the Paph godefroyae and they are presented very horizontally, an improvement to the often down swept petal position of  Paph godefroyae. The dorsal is slightly cupped and pinched at the top but not enough to distract from the flower form, overall it is quite flat and round. The pouch does jut out but I suspect that comes from the Paph hangianum parent. I see if few minor issues with symmetry and a small notch on the upper margin on the one petal.

Our candidate has nice markings contrasting the light cream colour.

The geometric natural spread of the parents is 10.6 cm, our candidate is 12.5, bigger than expected geometric mean, having inherited the size form the Paph hangianum parent.

If this was at the judging table I would nominate it for a quality award and I score as an HCC of 78 points.

Carol Beule (Accredited Judge, Pacific South Judging Center)

I drool over this flower.  Flat from the side and exceptionally round and full in most segments, except for the small notches in the petals, and the fact that the colors could be of deeper hues, I would definitely vote to award this flower.  I believe it could bring a high AM or even an FCC, though giving the 1st award to any cross or flower as an FCC is almost a "no no"! Therefore, I would vote to place this in the high AM category and hope that someday a deeper colored and possibly larger flower is produced.

Ginna Plude (Accredited Judge, Northeast Judging Center)

The candidate flower is very pretty in terms of color and markings.  The markings are crisp both on the petals and dorsal sepal, and the pouch looks like a nice crisp white.   There are 4 awards listed in OrchidWiz, but this plant has a much better looking flower than any of the photos in OrchidWiz.  The side views do make me wonder if the petals weren't manually 'popped' to make the flower flatter.  The downside, which is hard to ignore, is that the petals are not the same shape.  The right side is nice and round, the left is more elongated which looks to be an inheritied issue from the hangianum.  

Because of the definite improvement in the markings vs. the OrchidWiz examples I would probably point it (I'd have to confirm in person the petals weren't popped), but it might be less than an AM.

Deb Bodei (Associate Judge, Northeast Judging Center)

Paphiopedilum Wossner Favourite (Paph. godefroyae x Paph. hangianum)

This candidate took the best qualities of the parents presenting a nicely proportioned flower.  The size, fuller pouch and interesting staminode is from hangianum and the full petals, color and markings godefroyae. It is a nice flat flower with some dorsal hooding, which is expected. The symmetry and form is great and color is good too.

I would nominate this candidate for a flower award and expect a mid to high AM

Thank you,

Deb

Alejandro Capriles (Accredited Judge, Società Felsinea di Orchidofilia, Bologna, Italy, retired AOS Judge)

Paphiopedilum Wössner Favourite. A primary hybrid between P. godefroyae and P. hangianum made and registered by Franz Glanz in Unterwössen, Germany. I’ve seen some of these seedling in bloom at Franz’s greenhouses and I must say it’s a very consistent grex, mainly because of the high-quality cultivars Franz used to make the cross. I only know of one award from the German Orchid Society and although I’ve only seen pictures of it, I can say it was quite superior to this cultivar, both in shape and color. I find it consistent with the expectations of the grex, with a coloration leaning more towards the godefroyae parent but not particularly exceptional in shape: the petals are asymmetrical and the lip could be broader, which would give more balance the flower. Judging by the other seedlings of this grex I saw, the stem could be longer as well. I would not judge this flower at this time, but would love to see it in subsequent flowerings.

Jan Takamiya (Associate Judge, Hawaii Judging Center-Oaho)

My opinion of this primary hybrid is based on photos/research only, since I have not seen any of its species parents in person. Size is very difficult to capture in photos, so the size initially did not wow me. However a closer look at the NS H of 12.5 is almost 2 cm above the geometric mean! Although not as wide as the average NS of German awards, the size and its potential now impresses me. I wish I could see this Paph in person!  I like how the flower is displayed with good space and horizontal proportion above the vegetation.   I think the width of the dorsal hood fills the space between the petals very well and supports roundness apically. The round petals are fantastic, however the notch on the left petal, slight asymmetry of petal size and what seems like convex vs concave petal surfaces bothers me a bit; please pardon if I’m too critical. The chartreuse dorsal and pale yellow petals with contrasting dark tessellated overlay are very attractive and display a wonderful combination of both parents. I think the cream lip provides a nicely balanced visual contrast to the tessellation, and the feminine light pink staminode markings pull the whole flower together.  The overall flower shape would be improved if the bottom of the lip were rounded vs squared.  The more I learned about this hybrid, the more I learned to appreciate and adore it.

I would nominate Paph Wossner Favourite for judging and likely score an HCC.

Thank you!

David Edgley (Accredited Judge, Western Canada Judging Center)

One well-proportioned round flower on a fairly short but not untypical inflorescence.  Very pleasing color and pattern.  Petals are round and fairly flat, though one does appear to be a bit larger than the other.  Dorsal sepal and petals are nicely balanced and attractively presented.  My score 84 points.

David

Exhibitor - Trevor Yee, Australia (Accredited Judge, Australian Orchid Consul)

Virtual Award Description

One stately round cream colored flower on one short inflorescence held slightly above the foliage; dorsal and synsepal darker, slightly cupped and pinched, tessellated cordovan; petals full evenly tessellated cordovan, coalescing centrally, finely stippled distally; staminode marked pink, adds interest and cohesion; substance good, texture matte. 

Grower's Advice

Thanks to all the learned judges for their comments on Paph. Wossner Favourite. It's certainly gratifying to know many were in favour of a quality award.

This Paph. was purchased from a show vendor as an unflowered seedling when I looked at the pedigree. I thought it could be something quite interesting with good potential. I had never seen this hybrid before nor known much about it.  

When this Paph. was benched at our monthly Paph Society meeting, there were a lot of interest and discussion on it as many had not seen this grex before. The main points of discussion was around the 'best of both worlds' of how the traits and attributes from each parent imbued in the progeny. A few VR judges' comments also touched on this point. As it turned out, getting a very high quality FCC award is also testament to this.

Attached is the official award photo for reference. 

Thank you.

Trevor Yee, Sydney Australia.