Cymbidium Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' is one of the four 'Great Chance Tetraploids'
of Melquist - together with Alexanderi 'Westonbirt', Rosanna 'Pinkie' and
Babylon 'Castle Hill'. It is the hybrid between C. insigne 'Bieri' and C. lowianum 'St Denis' or 'Comte de Hemptinne'; which are probably the same clone of C. lowianum, and probably the same as the C. lowianum 'Superbissimum' of Linden. This lowianum is a large well-formed, clear green with a deep-coloured, crisply-marked lip. C. insigne 'Bieri' FCC/RHS,1931 described as the finest form of the species, was first
exhibited and Best Orchid on show at the Belgian International Show - April
1923 - owned by Ankersmitt & Bier. It was obtained from Sander's of Bruges in
1918. C. insigne 'Bieri' is very special in that it is a naturally occurring triploid
(determined by Leonhardt of Hawaii in 1979). Its legitimacy as a wild collected
plant is sometimes questioned, but this author regards its credentials as
impeccable.
The cross yielding C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' was probably made in Belgium in the early 1920's
with few seedlings raised. With a triploid pod-parent probably donating all of
its three genomes to its progeny, and the C. lowianum supplying the fourth, all these C. Pauwelsii clones were probably tetraploids, having three parts of C. insigne to one part C. lowianum. One problem we have here, however, is that C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' does not appear to be unbalanced in favour of C. insigne. Perhaps some experimental breeding will clarify this point. C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' has been selfed in the past, Wimber & Lenz
stating : 'Of those examined by the authors a few years ago, several appeared
to have much more desirable form and colour than the parent'. There may have
been other tetraploids of this Belgian C. Pauwelsii in existence. C. Pauwelsii 'Ankersmitt's' FCC/RHS 1927 was then described as the 'largest and
finest form of this hybrid, the spike bore 18 flowers, yellowish with obscure
rose brown venation, the labellum with a crimson zone on the front lobe.' - a
description which almost fits a newly opened C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' Rentoul states ; 'Other varieties of Pauwelsii
were also tetraploids, some distinctly robust in flowering and plant health. I
grew and flowered one of them and regarded it as one of the parents of Babylon'.
C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' was awarded in 1931 and described as follows :
'Probably the finest form of this hybrid. The spike bore 20 flowers - buff-pink
with a golden overtint, the labellum marked with red'. Soon polyploid progeny
of C. Pauwelsii - probably all derived from C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne'. were being made. As most of the other
available stud plants were diploid, these were mostly triploid progeny.
Here is a list of some of these triploids :
C. Altair 'Exbury' AM/RHS 1940 (x Pipit) - a bronze-yellow from a remake of C. Altair - probably the first C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' hybrid to be awarded.
C. Icarus AM/RHS 1S48 (x Apollo) - light fawn clone made at Exbury.
C. Goldcrest 'Wondahbah' HCC/NSW 1948 (x Erica Sander) - a triploid from a remake
using C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne'.
C. Joyance 'Cinnamon' HCC/NSW 1946 (x Joy Sander) - also a triploid from a remake.
C. Marmie Kingsford (x Pearl) and C. Peri (x President Wilson) - two similar, successful hybrids produced in both
2n and 3n forms. Four clones of C. Marmie Kingsford were awarded, all being triploids from crosses made in
England and America. The C. Peri triploid remake by Armacost and Royston of the 1940's gained awards for 12
clones, the best being 'Ironclad' AM/AOS,S/CSA 1950 and 'The King' AM/A03 1952.
Both crosses had tall, floriferous spikes of well-formed flowers, of rather
indifferent colour, in the bronzy tones.
C. Nathaniel FCC/RHS 1946 (x Caer Brito) - a cross best known for this light
orange clone - recently meristemmed by Andy East on.
C. Ilkley Moor (x Bodmin Moor) C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' crossed with a 2n and a 3n form of C. Bodmin Moor resulting in 3n and 5n progeny. One clone received an AM/AOS in
1949.
C. Beryl (x C. lowianum) - Originally made in 1918; remade by Mohr Brothers of Denmark using C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' and C. lowianum 'Copenhagen', the best, selected from over 2000 plants, was named 'Green
Fantasy' - truly exceptional for the cross.
C. Ulysses AM/RHS 1948 (x Hathor) - a triploid yellow-bronze.
C. Northlight 'Warwick' AM/AOS 1955 (x Luminous) - a green made by Sander.
C. Sunglow 'Peach Blossom' AM/RHS 1960 (x Neville Chamberlain) - a rose-mauve
English hybrid.
C. Rosaleen 'Buttercup' AM/RHS 1956 (x Rosette) - a bright yellow clone from
McBeans.
C. Gladys Hamilton 'Radiance' B/CSA 1953 (x Abona) - a rosy-bronze.
C. Nimrod AM/RHS 1946 (x Adelma) - a yellow-green clone from Exbury.
C. Hemptette 'Halo' AM/AOS 1957 (x Susette) - a lovely clear shell-pink.
The above triploid selection shows that C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' was able to breed a multitude of colours from
pink, orange, yellow, green, bronze and brown to rosy mauve.
One must never think that older crosses were made but once; they were
frequently remade. In the case of C. Swallow (Alexanderi x Pauwelsii), this hybrid was made in excess of 15 times
over a period of about 40 years. We have records of the 7 times that Sander
made C. Swallow; 5 times with various diploid Alexanderi's and Pauwelsii's, once with C. Alexanderi 'Westonbirt' and a diploid C. Pauwelsii, and once with the two tetraploid parents. It is rather difficult to
try to separate the progeny of the various C. Swallow crosses, but it would appear that all 43 awarded clones are either
tetraploid or those triploids derived from C. Alexanderi 'Westonbirt' crossed with one or other diploid C. Pauwelsii. It has
been reported that C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' was crossed with a diploid clone of C. Alexanderi, but the progeny were not of notable quality. Triploid and
Tetraploid Swallows were being awarded together in the 1940's. Such clones as
'Exbury' FCC/RHS 1947, 'Hebe' HCC/NSW 1944, 'Conquest' HCC/NSW 1945, 'Jill'
HCC/NSW 1950 and 'Magnolia' HCC/VIC 1947 were triploids, while 'Ronnoc' AM/VIC
1947, 'Soulangeana' AM/VIC 1946 and 'Rainbow' HCC/VIC 1948 were tetraploids.
Some of the tetraploid clones of C. Swallow used for breeding were 'Lemon
Beauty' AM/VIC 1947, 'Worrier I' S/CSA 1956 and 'Lorraine' HCC/AOS 1958.
C. Swallow was used for breeding about 100 times, in about half of these
crosses, a tetraploid Swallow was used. Of these, only about 8 hybrids are
worthy of note. The best hybrid appears to be C.Great Day (Swallow 'Green Mist' x Balkis) Stewart 1955; most of the clones were
white to pale green. 17 clones received awards, mostly between 1958 and 1966. A
few were used for further breeding, with occasional awards going to such
crosses as C. Jeannie Cobb (x Alexanderi), C. Mem. Gregor Mendel (x Balkis) - mostly whites, and C. Sea Shanty (x Claudona), C. Calico Horizons (x Dorama), C. Lauren Anderson (x Mount Everest), C. San Diego (x Sea Foam) -mostly in shades of green. This line of hybrids
appears no longer to be used.
C. Coral Sea (Swallow x Babylon) was made with one of the pink Swallows and this
line promised for a while the possibility of a new red breeding line, the clone
'Triumph' HCC/AOS being dark rose. Nothing of note has emerged here, perhaps
the proof of the pudding was in the eating. That C. Swallow could produce progeny in the red direction was proved by the two
tripioids; C. Biak (Swallow 'Worrier I' x Fascination) with awarded clones in rose and red,
and C. Harlequin (Swallow x Paracel) with rose pink and magenta clones, both crosses
noted more for their colour and floriferousness than their shape.
C. Hi-Rated (Swallow x Etta Barlow) is best known for the New Zealand clone
'Moonstone' awarded there in the late 1960's. This clone has been used for
further breeding and a clone of C. Rae James (x Green Knight) called 'Cameo' received a B/CSA in 1985.
C. Martha Daeniker (Swallow x Vieux Rose) was made at Stonehurst in England and
the clone 'Stonehurst' received an AM/RHS in 1971, the flower colour being
described as "red purple". This clone has been crossed with C. Fred
Stewart to make C. Bert White, the clone 'Ardingly' AM/RHS 1984 being a lovely
full white with a striking Vieux Rose-type lip.
C. Peri 'Rogers' (C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' x President Wilson) is a chance tetraploid
from a triploid cross. This plant is considered by some, such as Andy Easton,
to be a misnamed C. Swallow, but the heavy barring of the lip leads this author
to believe that it has been correctly named. Stewart's released a string of
green to yellow and bronze hybrids of this C. Peri in the 60's and early 70's. These generally have beautiful long spikes
and are very floriferous and include such plants as C. Valencia 'Goldensun' B/5WOC 1966 (x Apollo), C. Barcelona 'Magic Wand' AM/RHS 1964 (x Aureole), C. African Adventure 'Jungle Trail' HCC/AOS 1965 and 'Zanzibar' HCC/AOS 1972 (x
Chironla) and C. Madrid 'Forest King' HCC/AOS 1970 (x Vale of Kashmir). Santa Barbara Orchid
Estates produced C. Cloversheen 'St Patrick' AD/CSA (Peri x Miretta) in 1972. C. Peri has been little used with other tetraploids, all the above hybrids being
triploid and perhaps it still has something to offer in the way of spike habit
and floriferousness.
C. Prince Charles is a hybrid produced by the English firm of Black and Flory.
registered in 1949. It is the cross of C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' and Balkis 'Solent Queen'. There were three
clones awarded in the U.S.A. between 1957 and 1968 - not necessarily from the
original cross. In the Cape (RSA), a clone of C. Prince Charles received a HCC/COS in the 1960's and was described as a blush
pink polychrome of good shape on a one metre long spike; truly a historical
collector's item. C. Prince Charles 'Exbury' is an unawarded yellowish clone of great
floriferousness and good spike habit, but rather shapeless. It has been of
great value to the hybridiser being the parent of the following three crosses,
other crosses of C. Prince Charles being rather disappointing.
C. Pershing Park (x Rosinante) had white and pink clones receiving B & S/CSA
awards in the mid 1960's. C. Ballathie (x Hawtescens FCC) produced some excellent yellows with broomstick
spikes, which were probably tetraploids or pentaploids.
C. Prince of Caithness (x Caithness 'Cooksbridge') was the surprise of the early
1980's. The excellent clone 'Amstelveen' SM/DOG from Meeuwissen/Duckitt has
been seen at many S.A. shows and has been illustrated on the back cover of the
S.A. Orchid Journal. Other clones seen have also been of good quality. We await
further hybrids between C. Prince Charles and other well-formed tetraploids.
C. Bartok (C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' x Delphine), the latter being a diploid hybrid
of C. Ceres x C. lowianum, was crossed onto C. Remus by Armstrong and Brown to produce the interesting hybrid C. Buddah, with three clones receiving awards; 'Shemara' AM/RHS 1961 - a
rosy-mauve, 'Warringal' HCC/ AOC 1969 - green and cream and 'Wondabah' HCC/NSW
1959 - reddish pink. The ploidy of these clones would make an interesting
study; Andy Easton crossed C. Buddah with C. Rincon to make C. Abba, but
nothing further has been heard about these.
C. Charmant (C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' x Charm) is a Sander hybrid registered in 1946.
Greenoaks (Emma Menninger) of California owned a counted tetraploid clone
called 'Baroque' and they used it for breeding, the only significant progeny
being C. Twelth Night (x Stanley Fouraker). Dr. Vandyk of South Australia used Twelth
Night in his breeding program, producing the interesting hybrid C. Valley Flower (Twelth Night x Sheba) of which the clones 'Tabasco' and 'Cherry
Ripe' are widely distributed and are being used a lot for further breeding;
especially for the pot plant industry in Japan where 'Cherry Ripe' is popular
with its small growth habit, medium spikes packed with reasonable flowers and
tremendous spike set.
C. Nam Khan (C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' x: Rosanna 'Pinkie') was one of the first bred
tetraploids and full of promise. A number of clones went into circulation
including FCC/RHS 1946 from the Exbury collection, 'Lita' AM/AOS 1950,
'Borealis' , 'Verulam' etc., mostly in the rose pink colour range and with the
usual C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' good spike habit. From the 40 or so crosses,
only a handful were successful and these are;
C. Mazatlan (x Alexanderi) which includes many late blooming pale yellows and
whites, three clones receiving awards in the 1S60's. A hybrid of C. Mazatlan,
C. Sea Melody (x Irish Melody) produced a fine yellow clone 'Kathryn' HCC/AOS
1973. C. Mazatlan is currently being used in Australia for breeding.
C. Sayonara (Nam Khan x Apollo) produced some excellent triploid yellows; the
Australian clone 'Aureolin' AM/NSW 1961 being the most popular; six other
clones receiving awards. The excellent C. Anita (Nam Khan x Profita) registered by Armstrong & Brown in 1961 had eight
awarded clones and many more of exceptional quality, ranging from cream and
green to rosy mauve, tomato red and polychrome; a veritable palette of colour,
unfortunately all triploid and sterile.
Also from Armstrong & Brown was the cross C. Sheba (Nam Khan x Vieux Rose) 1966 from which the cross C. Valley Flower was derived. The famous C. Sylvania (Sheba x Early Bird) was registered by Alvin Bryant in 1970 and is
much used in Australia. C. Valley Paradise (Pearl-Easter x Sylvania) is a substantial pink used for
breeding by Valley Orchids. The wonderful C. Cherilyn 'Swansea' AM/NSW 1979 was bred by Bryant using C. Sylvania 'Sonnet' and a diploid C. Downs Delight. C. Lisa Rose (Sylvania x Keera) has a few awarded clones, but the unawarded 'Fire
Glow', meristemmed by Alvin Bryant, is better known and widely distributed. C. Sylvania is still much used as a parent in Australia, as well as in California
by Rudvalis.
C. Nam Khan crossed with the obscure C. Green Goddess - a C. Miretta hybrid,produced the beautiful full dark green and very slow-growing C. High Sierra 'Green Glory' AM/AOS 1974, which is a chance hexaploid. This plant
is at present being widely used to produce some interesting progeny, which are
mostly pentaploid, as all the breeders using it appear to think that it is a
tetraploid and are using it with tetraploids. Some of these progeny are
excellent and very full, but appear to be a bit short on flower count - as may
be expected.
The last C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' hybrid to be discussed is C. Babylon. This is the hybrid between C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' (or perhaps some other 4n C. Pauwelsii) and C. Olympus, the clone being variously given as 'Rex' FCC/RHS 1932 or 'Monarch'
AH/RHS 1935. Both these clones of C.Olympus come from the triploid cross; C. Alexanderi ' Westonbirt' x C. Vesta and one of them may have been a chance tetraploid; no recorded
chromosome counts can be found for either. The author previously believed that
a 3n x 4n cross would yield aneuploids, 3n, 4n and 5n plants. It is now
believed that triploids will only breed usable plants by being a producer of
triploid gametes, ie. giving their progeny three complete genomes, so 3n x 4n
gives 5n progeny ( plus a few aneuploid genetic cripples which will not grow
normally). As both known clones of C. Babylon are clean tetraploids, the C. Olympus parent must therefore have been a chance tetraploid.
It is hard to understand the wonderful breeding record of C. Babylon, when one compares it to those of C. Swallow or C. Nam Khan, two hybrids which must vary only very little genetically from C. Babylon. C. Babylon was bred by the great H.G. Alexander and registered in 1942. The clone
'Castle Hill' was purchased by Col. Tufton, who later became Lord Hothfield and
who lived at Englefield Green, Surrey, England. The Schroder family lived on a
neighbouring estate 'Dell Park'. The acquisition of C. Babylon 'Castle Hill' led to the great English "High Colour"
Cymbidium breeding movement centred around Englefield Green, breeding starting
soon after this clone received its FCC/RHS in 1943 - right in the middle of
World War II ! Another clone of C. Babylon surfaced in California in the collection of Mrs Carpentier and has
also been used for breeding, but to a lesser extent than 'Castle Hill'.
The early C. Babylon breeding at Englefield Green produced such classics as C. Carillon (x Carisbrook) 1949 with three clones receiving AM/RHS awards in 1953
and 1955 - all in shades of pink. One clone of this triploid cross has been the
parent of another hybrid of note; C. Croatan (Carillon x Remus), the clone 'Claret', of a claret-red colour,
receiving an AM/RHS in 1968.
C. Euphrates 'Kara Su' AM/RHS (Babylon x Cassandra) was a pale pink registered by
Schroder in 1957. C. La Belle (Babylon x Flare) Schroder 1955 gave two clones of note; 'Annabelle'
AM/RHS 1958 - a pale rose, and 'Dell Park' FCC/RHS 1958 - a rose purple.
C. Appleby (Marcia x Babylon) bred by Hothfield has had a few clones awarded
including 'Flakebridge' AM/RHS 1960 - a cream, and some clones that went to New
Zealand, such as 'Coburg', 'Rosie O'Grady' and 'Carolina' - many in strange
greyed colours.
C. Tinsel (Babylon x Pearl) Hothfield 1949 was also made in America by Armacost &
Royston and Stewart's and of the 17 awarded clones only three were English. The
colour-range of this hybrid was wide; mostly pinks, greens, yellows and fawns.
A hybrid of C. Tinsel, C. Ortin (x Orcades) was used by Graves of California for breeding a number of
times, with no notable results.
C. Vieux Rose (Babylon x Rio Rita) was probably the most successful hybrid of C. Babylon to come from Englefield Green (registered by Hothfield 1949), with 6
awards going to the Englefield Greeners
At least one clone of C. Vieux Rose; namely 'Dell Park' FCC/RHS 1953 is a tetraploid and its hybrids
like C. Western Rose, Rothesay, Chiffon Rose, Philip Stephan, Roi Soleil, Sheba,
Rosanette, Sutherland, Atahualpa, Reverie, Royden, Pink Ice, Martha Daeniker
etc., are great plants and useful parents and will be covered more completely
elsewhere.
C. Runnymede (Babylon x Roxana) Hothfield 1949 had awards for 5 clones in the
yellow range; all AM/RHS except for the first clone which received a FCC/RHS.
This clone, known as C. Runnymede FCC/RHS appears to be a tetraploid and has
been used to produce C. Magna Charta (x Flare) Schroder 1961, with four awarded clones in the yellow
and red polychrome colour range, the most famous being 'Dell Park' AM/RHS. C. Magna Charta in turn has produced C. Gloire Dell Park 'Orange Glow' AM/RHS 1973 (x Ormoulu), a fairly good orange. C. Runnymede x C. Ormoulu produced C. Spring Glory (Schroder 1969); the yellow clone 'Dual Gold' was released by
McBeans after Ray Bilton's sojourn at Dell Park Nurseries. Dr. F. Borg of
Finland made the hybrid C. Yellow Prince (Runnymede x Balkis), a tetraploid which has recently been used
as a parent.
C. Burgundian (Babylon x Remus) Schroder 1955 was an excellent triploid hybrid,
seven clones of which were awarded in many colours including white, rose, gold
and polychrome. The most famous clone is 'Chateaux' FCC/RHS, FCC/AOS, S/CSA.
In America a number of triploid hybrids of C. Babylon have been awarded; these
include;
C. Chapala (x Adarissa), Moulmein (x Altair), Santa Fe (x Blue Smoke), Clarisse
Carlton (x Cambria) - also made in England, Concha (x Carisona), Crescendo (x
Ceres), Manila (x Claudona), Trade Winds (x Rosette), Fantasia (x Susette),
Bali (x Sussex), the beautiful Channel Islands (x Candeur), Fusilier (x
Fascination), Peach Bloom (x Miretta) - with the excellent clone 'Monterey',
Tahiti (x Paracel), Juan Cabrillo (x Rosalita), Mirahill (x Miracle), etc. With
other tetraploids, mostly white in colour, C. Babylon has produced a number of useful hybrids.
C. Cleo Sherman (Alexanderi 'Westonbirt' x Babylon 'Castle Hill') Sherman 1956
has produced about 17 F1 clones which have received awards, including the Santa Barbara Champion C. Cleo Sherman 'Mem. Robert Casamajor' FCC/AOS, G/CSA 1968; winner of the 1968
show. In 1969 this show was won by C. Cleo Sherman 'Candy Cane' AM/AOS, S/CSA 1969, an F2 having as one parent 'Mem. Robert Casamajor', the other being an unawarded
white C. Cleo Sherman. About 18 other F2 C. Cleo Shermans have been awarded, including the clone 'Day Dream' AM/AOS, S/CSA
1973, winner of the 1973 Santa Barbara Show. In 1973 three clones of C. Cleo Sherman received SAOC awards in the Cape and a group of 12 plants
received an Award of Quality for Constantia Orchids. These were apparently F1 hybrids.
C. General Sherman (Cleo Sherman x Balkis) Sherman 1963 is notable in that one
clone;
'Spring Valley', received a FCC/AOS, G/CSA in 1978 and was voted the Orchid
Advocate Cymbidium of the year for that year. The round, beautiful C. Fort Knox 'Treasure' HCC/AOS 1971 is the hybrid between C. Cleo Sherman and C. Brentwood.
C. Cleo's Melody (Cleo Sherman x Arcadian Melody) is most noted for the
near-peloric clone 'Freakout' which transmits this strange condition to its
progeny. C. Cleo Sherman crossed with the chance tetraploid C. Louis Sander 'Braemar' makes C. Brenda Toya, the creamy-white clone 'Bicentennial' HCC/AOS, B/CSA receiving its
award in the American Bicentennial Year 1976. The 1989 Santa Barbara Show
Champion was C. Via Spring Snow 'Jimmy' (Raquel Abril x Cleo Sherman). C. Cleo Sherman is being used more and more as a parent, and it can be predicted
that many excellent progeny will yet be derived from it.
C. Babylon x C. Balkis makes the hybrid C. Desiree A'Logann, which has been used frequently in breeding, nevertheless
producing but one hybrid of note; C. Poetic (x Stanley Fouraker), the clone 'Andre' HCC/AOC 1976 being used by Alvin
Bryant in his breeding program. An interesting footnote to this, is the story
of C. Leedja Cleon. This cross was registered by Dos Pueblos Orchids as C. Babylon x C. lowianum in 1955 and a number of good whites and pinks were produced, eight of which
were granted awards and a few were used for further breeding. Apparently the
pollen parent was C. Balkis 'Silver Orb', but Dos Pueblos did not want to admit that they had used
a C. Balkis other than their own clone 'Perfection', so this hybrid was
misregistered. C. Leedja Cleon crossed back onto C. Balkis produced C. Jimmy Van Heusen 'Ridgeway' B/CSA 1976 - a flush pink.
C. Ann Green (Babylon x Rosanna 'Pinkie') had 23 clones awarded, mostly in the
white to pink colour range. Clones of this grex are being used a lot in
Australia at present, particularly the deeper pink clones. C. Philomena Cardosa (Ann Green x Saigon) Stewart 1971 is a triploid yielding
clones of light to deep pink, three clones of which are awarded.
C. Featherhill was an American attempt at some "High Colour" breeding,
being a cross of C. Babylon by C. Spartan Queen 'Mrs. Ireland'. C. Featherhill 'Heritage' AM/RHS, AM/AOS, B/CSA, B/6WOC, was the first high
colour cymbidium to win the Santa Barbara Show, this it did in 1964; a good red
flower of good conformation and medium size. Latterly it appears that this
clone may be a chance tetraploid and possibly useful for further breeding. Four
other deep rose clones of C. Featherhill were awarded between 1957 and 1959.
C. Bartolme Ferrello (Babylon x Dorchester) is a Dos Pueblos cross registered in
1961. The C. Dorchester clone, 'Alpha' is a breedable triploid, and the clone C. Bartolme Ferrello 'Patrician' AM/AOS 1965, a nice white with a red barred lip,
is apparently a counted pentaploid. Derived from this breeding, it is likely
that the other three awarded C. Bartolme Ferrellos are also pentaploids, C. Bloomfield 'Solar' (Balkis x Bartolme Ferrello), a very full white, with an
almost concolor lip, received one of the two Great Gold Medals given to
cymbidiums at the 8th World Orchid Conference in Frankfurt in 1975. C. Showboat 'Southern Lace' B/5WOC (Bartolme Ferrello x Carisona) is a warm beige
and white polychrome. C. Bartolme Ferrello is being used a lot as a parent at
the present and a selfing has also been produced.
C. Pink Momouth (Babylon x Etta Barlow) has been used in the 1970's by Gallup &
Stribling as a parent and three of its hybrids have received one or two awards
each - all having unmemorable names in the "Via" series - Via Verde
Limon (x Green Spring), Via de Madrugada (x Pixie Dawn) and Via Constelado (x
Rincon).
C. Marquesa Prescott (Louis Sander 4n x Babylon) Braemar 1962 has two pink awarded
clones and at present these are being used for breeding quite extensively.
Summary: The C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' breeding line is still alive and well -
mostly through C. Babylon 'Castle Hill' and its progeny C. Vieux Rose and C. Cleo Sherman, but also through other minor lines. The potential with regard to
spike habit, floriferousness and "high colour" that lie in these
lines should be reconsidered, and perhaps some of the older tetraploids derived
from C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne' should be resurrected to see whether
they could now contribute more to the great genetic spectrum of the Cymbidium.
Bibliography: All of the Sander's Lists were consulted and all Hybrids of C. Pauwelsii were extracted. The ploidy of the various hybrids and there progeny
were looked up in the list of chromosome counts in Arditti J., Orchid Biology III 1984, to determine which hybrids came from C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne'.
These hybrids were then assessed with regard to further breeding or awards
using The Cymbidium List, Vol. I & II, by A. Koester (1979 & 1982). Other notes and information gleaned from 12 years
of reading and rereading everything that I could lay my hands on that contained
information on Cymbidiums, but especially the journals: The Orchid Review, AOS
Bulletin, Australian Orchid Review, Cymbidium Society News and The Orchid
Advocate. Early history of C. Pauwelsii 'Comte de Hemptinne', C. insigne 'Bieri', etc from the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society. The only
special article consulted was 'Old Cymbidium Breeders with Present-day
Potential' by Andrew Easton, The Orchid Advocate, Vol. 2, (4), p. 125. (1976).