A LAELIA BY ANY OTHER NAME IS STILL AN ORCHID!

What in the world did those orchids that grow in Brazil do to deserve this! Take Sophronitis coccinea, an orchid from Brazil, first described by Lindley in 1836 as a Cattleya, then transferred to the genus Sophronitis in 1862. It is a small orchid with bright red or scarlet flowers, and has been used extensively in hybridization to impart its red color and smaller size to many orchids. The genus Sophronitis, as originally interpreted, has only about four or five species that grow in damp mountain regions in Brazil. Then look at Laelia purpurata. This species, also from Brazil, was first described as Laelia purpurata by Lindley in 1852 (even though he really thought it was a Cattleya). Later it was thought to be a species of Cattleya, but more recently it has been considered a species of Sophronitis. Now that scientists have all the advanced technology and especially DNA identifying techniques, they have shuffled around the species of Sophronitis and the Brazilian laelias again. As a retired botanist and plant taxonomist (but I did not work on orchids!!) I find these plant name changes interesting, but as an orchid grower, somewhat frustrating, but fun! Delving into all these name changes does add another dimension to the challenges of the orchidist. I read recently that at the World Orchid Conference in Miami in 2008 there was a decision t