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A NEW DISCOVERY After the long interval of a quarter century in which no plant with flowers exactly matching those of Phal. cornu-cervi ‘Pravit Chattalada’ was found anywhere, one appeared that is morphologically identical with the Pravit Chattalada cultivar in all respects. In August, 2000, a species hunter collected a single plant in the vicinity of Khun Tan, Thailand. Khun Tan is located in a mountainous northern area some 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Chiang Mai, at an altitude of about 2,295 feet (700 m). The species hunter recognized the uniqueness of the plant and took it to Surapon Tangkitisup, who is better known by his nickname “Oun” (the English translation of which is “Fatty).” Oun is an engaging and popular local figure who formerly was perhaps the most prominent dealer of Thai orchid species in the Chiang Mai area but, as orchid species became scarcer and scarcer due to loss of habitat, he largely retired from the species trade and opened a small shop in the Pratoo Haiya horticultural market, where he sells a hodgepodge of garden and house plants and supplies, budgies, bird seed, bird cages and antique wall clocks and an occasional orchid species. Oun recognized the rarity of the plant and purchased it, but, because he no longer was growing any orchids at his place, he arranged for Chinainthorn to keep it for him, just as Pravit had done with his plant. Chinainthorn decided to try to cross it with the Pravit Chattalada cultivar, notwithstanding his previous attempts to self the latter. He used the Chattalada cultivar as the pollen parent and Oun’s plant as the pod parent. He was successful on the first try.
About three years ago, Chinainthorn gave me a flask of the progeny. Both he and I already have bloomed a number of these seedlings. All are identical with the ‘Pravit Chattalada’ cultivar in flower color, complete absence of spots and markings, and outstanding flatness of form. Their identical appearance, it seems to me, supports my supposition that the ‘Pravit Chattalada’ plant, like the ‘Oun’ one, most probably was collected in the vicinity of Khun Tan area of northern Thailand and not in the Thaleban habitat of Seidenfaden’s Phal. thalebanii (which, as already mentioned, abuts northern Malaysia and the Andaman Sea.) It seems rather improbable that there would be two such small and isolated habitats of this rare form some thousand miles apart – one in the southernmost part of Thailand and the other in the distant north, especially since the climate of the Thaleban area is quite different from that of the Khun Tan district.
I am assigning the infraspecific epithet forma chattaladae to the cultivar Phal. cornu-cervi ‘Pravit Chattalada’ and to its kinds, rather than the epithet f. thalebanii or Phal. thalebanii, for three reasons: (1) its difference from the thalebanii form, (2) the evidence that the Chattalada cultivar is not simply a single isolated mutant and (3) the uniformity of the offspring of the two collected specimens when they are paired with each other.
Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi forma chattaladae Grove, forma nova
Type: From a cultivated plant, May 10, 2006, D. Grove (holotype: BKL, Photo: BKL). The cultivar name of the type specimen is ‘Chinainthorn’.
Sepalis petalisque punctis vittis maculisve omnino carentibus et utrinque, etiem ad marginem, uniformiter sanguineis a forma tipica speciei differt.
(Translation: From the typical form of the species it differs in sepals and petals completely lacking dots, bands or blotches and on both sides, even to the margin, uniformly blood red.)
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Surapon Tangkitisup played an important role in the preservation of the chattaladae form and is the owner of one of only two collected plants. These two are the parents of all the succeeding offspring in cultivation, and, without that second plant and his efforts to keep the form in existence, the form probably would soon disappear. Without his foresight to take that plant to Chinainthorn, knowing as he did that Chinainthorn was taking care of Pravit's plant, there would be no progeny in cultivation.
Phal. cornu-cervi f. chattaladae 'Chinainthorn'
Phal. cornu-cervi f. chattaladae 'Chinainthorn'
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