The purpose of this FAQ is to amplify or clarify some points about Phal. cornu-cervi fma. chattaladae, and to include information from a wider range of sources, not to duplicate information in the article published by Dr. Grove in "Orchids". In addition, there are some points of view represented in this FAQ that are not held in consensus. I suggest that if you wish to know as much as possible about the chattaladae forma, that you begin by reading Dr. Grove's article. There is nobody that has more intimate familiarity with the history of chattaladae than Dr. Grove.

Chattaladae Time Line

• Early 1960's: A Naturalist, the late Dr. Boonsong had several solid red cornu-cervi in his garden in Bangkok. Dr. Boonsong showed the collection locale near Cheng Mai to Dr. Stock, who was able to view them in situ. Dr. Boonsong believed this form was also found in other locations based on information from his sources.
• 1975 ‘Pravit Chattalada’ purchased from street vendor in Bangkok, Thailand
• 1979 ‘Pravit Chattalada’ receives a JC/AOS
• Maynard Michel makes stem propagations of ‘Pravit Chattalada’
• Repeated attempts at self-pollination of ‘Pravit Chattalada’ fail
• 2000 ‘Oun’ is collected in vicinity of Khun Tan, Thailand
• 2001 Christenson publishes monograph
• Chinainthorn Tipakornkarn pollinates ‘Oun’ with ‘Pravit Chattalada’
• Grove gets flask of f1 cross and grows in US
• 2006 Michel loans a piece of ‘Pravit Chattalada’ to Bedard for propagation
• 2006 Grove describes/publishes forma chattaladae
• 2006 Grove makes f2 capsules and distributes f1 seedlings in US
• 2006 Bedard and Grove negotiate trade for two f1 seedlings; one has f2 capsule on it
• 2007 First chattaladae capsule sowed in US [See the capsules being sown.]
• 2007 First US Flasks (spreads) shipped
• 2007-2008 Replates and Seedlings available

Some Clarifications

• While P. cornu-cervi f. chattaladae is a red form of cornu-cervi, not all red forms of cornu-cervi are P. cornu-cervi f. chattaladae.
• It is the position of Dr. Grove and his contacts in Thailand that there have only been the two plants of P. cornu-cervi f. chattaladae ever found, and any other plants claiming to be P. cornu-cervi f. chattaladae, will prove upon closer examination, to be something else.
• Phal. cornu-cervi fma. chattaladae does not come from (Thaleban Sanctuary in) southern Thailand, it comes from northern Thailand near Khun Tan (about 48km SE of Chiang Mai.) It is reportedly found growing on the north slope of heavily forested hills at about 700 meters elevation.
• Seidenfaden was NOT referring to (what is now known as) Phal. cornu-cervi fma. chattaladae when he described Phal. thalebanii. (I have seen a photo that was supposed to be of the Phal. thalebanii type specimen, and it is clearly NOT Phal. cornu-cervi fma. chattaladae.)
• Christenson WAS referring to Phal. cornu-cervi fma. chattaladae ‘Pravit Chattalada’ when discussing Phal. cornu-cervi fma. thalebanii in his monograph.
• Christenson believes Seidenfaden's Phal. thalebanii is at best another color form of cornu-cervi.
• Plants of cornu-cervi from southern Thailand are highly variable and dissimilar from the forms found in northern Thailand.
• Christenson's concept of Phal. cornu-cervi fma. sanguinea is probably the same entity as Garay's concept of Phal. cornu-cervi fma. rubescens; and fma. chattaladae is different.
• Phal. cornu-cervi f. chattaladae has now been described as a botanical (as opposed to horticultural) form, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Grove.

Comments

A great deal of confusion arose because of the application of the thalebanii epithet to plants of what is now known as chattaladae. Many people, after reading Christenson, purchased plants labeled Phal. thalebanii, from various sources, believing those to be the solid red form, and discovered that while dark they did not have the solid color of chattaladae.

Now that Phal. cornu-cervi fma. chattaladae has been published, there is a rush to capitalize on the popularity of something new, by offering "red cornu-cervi". If you want Phal. cornu-cervi fma. chattaladae, then buy Phal. cornu-cervi fma. chattaladae, do not buy "red form cornu-cervi", or Phal. thalebanii, expecting to get Phal. cornu-cervi fma. chattaladae. I have seen a number of photos of cultivars of solid red cornu-cervi that are clearly Phal. cornu-cervi fma. chattaladae, from Thailand and from the EU. There are plants out there; it is highly probable that they are being propagated.

Add to this nomenclatural confusion the scarcity of chattaladae in cultivation, (very few people had ever seen one in flower; indeed, there was only one cultivar outside Thailand for twenty-five years), and the potential value of a solid red Phalenopsis species, and you have all the makings of a rather large mess. People really wanted "thalebanii" for the solid red color described in Christenson, but kept getting plants that did not exhibit that characteristic. Remember, there were only two cultivars of this forma commonly known to exist until Chinainthorn Tipakornkarn pollenated 'Oun' by 'Pravit Chattalada' and created the f1 population; and prior to 2000, there was only one known cultivar of what is now called chattaladae. (I have since found out that Dr. Boonsong had plants under cultivation in the early 60's; one wonders what ever became of these plants.)

I think part of the problem was that plants were being identified as Phal. thalebanii [Seidenfaden], and then exported to the US, where people were thinking Phal. cornu-cervi fma. thalebanii [Christenson]. As Christenson was apparently talking about Phal. cornu-cervi 'Pravit Chattalada' when discussing Phal. cornu-cervi fma. thalebanii, (given Christenson's reference to Dr. Grove's and Dr. Michel's collections, both of which had plants of 'Pravit Chattalada'), and these flowers are absolutely solid red, it is clearly different than the imported Phal. thalebanii, that all have at the very least, barring on the inside halves of the lateral sepals in every photo I have seen. (The cultivar 'Magnifico' mentioned in the Grove article is a very good example.)

Now that this forma has been seed propagated, and found to be stable; now that it has been properly described, and people better understand the differences between some of the Phal. cornu-cervi forms; now you will see correctly labeled plants of this forma become available. Indeed, many plants of the f1 seedling population were traded this year [2006] and currently reside in a number of private collections in the US. Additionally, on the order of 20 plants were released in Thailand, most probably from the f1 population, so it is possible that more artificially propagated plants will turn up from these. It is now only a matter of time before this forma is available to just about anybody that wants it.

Discussion

Peter Lin at Big Leaf Orchids has generously offered to host a thread discussing this new forma and its relation to other red forms of cornu-cervi at the Big Leaf Orchids Forum. Please join us at Big Leaf Orchids Forum | Species Corner | chattaladae.com.

References

While I am not a taxonomist, and am solely responsible for the content of this page, I wish to acknowledge the following people (or publications) for providing me with information I used in its preparation.

• Ken Avant, personal communication
• "Awards Quarterly", Vol. 12, No. 1, 1981, p 4; American Orchid Society. [Phal. cornu-cervi 'Pravit Chattalada' JC/AOS award description.]
• Eric A. Christenson, PhD., personal communication
• Eric A. Christenson, PhD., "Phalaenopsis: A Monograph", Portland OR, The Timber Press, 2001
• Dr. David L. Grove, PhD., personal communication
• Dr. David L. Grove, PhD., "A Rare Form of Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi", "Orchids" August 2006
• Dr. Maynard Michel, PhD., personal communication
• Dr. A. Dean Stock, PhD., personal communication