An Orchid Judge's Glossary

The words and phrases below are basic to the rules and regulations of the schedules and point scales. Their definitions have been carefully constructed for use in judging and exhibition.

Accessories: Articles other than the plants or flowers exhibited. Accessories must be subordinate but a part of the whole. Cut foliage and foliage plants, stands and containers, backgrounds, etc., are classed as accessories.

According to variety: The judging of flowers or plants which takes into consideration the potential and limitations of the species and clones from which they stem and the effects of hybridization.

Alba (or album): A term applied to an individual of a species or hybrid the flowers of which are normally colored but which in this instance lack all coloration except white or, occasionally, yellow, or green in combination with white.

Amateur: One who grows their own plants primarily for their pleasure and who does not derive their livelihood or a substantial income therefrom.

Arranged for effect (in schedules): A manner of composing plants or cut flowers primarily to exhibit the horticultural material to best advantage, as well as to contribute to the general beauty of the show.

Arrangement (in schedules): An exhibit in which flowers with or without accessories are grouped to convey an idea. (Contrary to other groups or classes, the living material is of secondary importance to the idea which it expresses.)

Arrangement of inflorescence: The manner in which flowers are displayed upon the stem.

Artistic: Pleasing to the eye; conceived with taste and executed with skill. In award judging: The noncompetitive judging of plants and/or flowers for inherent quality according to established procedures.

Balance (a design principle): Illusion of symmetrical or asymmetrical visual stability.

Blemish: A bruise, spray discoloration, any injury by insects or disease, or any malformation detracting from the appearance of an exhibit.

Bloom: An individual flower.

Botanical (in point scales): A term designating any species or natural hybrid seldom seen in cultivation, the display of which contributes to the dissemination of knowledge of orchids: in schedules, any species or genus of orchids not commonly grown commercially for its flowers.

Botanical variety: A plant in nature having minor characteristics or variations which distinguish it from the typical variety of the species.

Breeder: See hybridizer.

Breeding: The planned production of horticultural forms through selection, crossing and/or hybridizing. Charm: An intangible quality which gives an exhibit an especially fascinating appeal.

Class: The extent of a group of entries in a show established by the show schedule.

Clonal variety: A named individual which is always vegetatively propagated from a clone; a cultivar. Clone: A plant grown from a single seed and all subsequent vegetative divisions of it.

Cluster: A group of several flowers growing close together on one stem.

Color (in point scales): The hue, clarity, intensity, etc., of coloring in relation to the usual forms; an orderly arrangement of color areas; also, novelty of coloring, if handsome and desirable.

Commercial grower: One who grows plants and/or flowers for sale with or without employed help and derives their livelihood or a substantial income therefrom.

Condition: The physical state of the flower or plant at the time of judging.

Contrast (a design principle): Different characteristics of design elements, such as coarse/smooth, light/dark, short/long.

Cross: The mating of two different orchid clones, whether varieties, species, hybrids, or genera; the progeny from such a mating.

Cultivar: An individual plant in cultivation, including its vegetative propagations and meristem propagations. (Abbreviated as cv.)

Cultivar name: A fancy (that is, non-Latin) name given to an orchid clone and set in single quotes when written or printed.

Cultural perfection: The development of plants in flower to the presumed peak of their potential. Display: An exhibit of plants and flowers for effect with emphasis on the attractiveness of the grouping.

Disqualify: To remove an entry from consideration for exhibiting or judging because of some defect which is the exhibitor's fault, e.g., not conforming to schedule, use of forbidden accessories, and violation of some rule in the schedule or detriment to the general quality of the show.

Distinction (in point scales): A quality of excellence which places the exhibit above the usual or commonplace.

Dominance (a design principle): Greater impact of some elements thereby subduing others.

Eliminate: To remove from consideration of the judges an entry which for some reason (such as poor condition or lack of beauty) is detrimental to the general quality of the show or is not worthy of consideration.

Exhibit: An entry placed in a show.

Floriferousness: The degree of flower-bearing in relation to the typical.

Foliage (in schedules): Only natural foliage, ferns, and other suitable foliage plants.

Form: The conformation, carriage and proportion of petals, sepals, and lip, according to variety.

Genus (pl. genera): A subdivision of a family, consisting of one or more species which show similar significant characteristics and appear to have a common ancestry.

Geometric mean (of two numbers): The square root of the product of two numbers. Example: The geometric mean of 9 and 4 equals the square root of 36 which equals 6.

Grex: A flock or group, applied collectively to the progeny of a given cross.

Grex name: The fancy (that is, non-Latin) name given to a cross and to all progeny of that cross. Habit of inflorescence (in point scales): The manner in which the inflorescence is displayed.

Horticultural variety: Any of a cultivated population of a species or interspecific hybrid group having characters by which it merits distinction from others of the same kind. (Same as cultivar.)

Hybrid: The offspring of a cross between two different species, a species and a hybrid, or two hybrids. Hybrid genus: A category of plants derived from the combination of two or more genera.

Hybridization: The act or process of creating hybrids.

Hybridizer: The firm or individual who originates a cross and produces progeny for distribution, irrespective of ownership of parent plants or agent technically concerned in pollination, germination, etc.; the breeder.

Individual: A single plant, inflorescence, or clone.

Inflorescence: Mode of flower-bearing. (For types of inflorescences, see panicle, raceme, scape, spike and umbel.)

Labeling (in point scales): The identification of the individual plants in a group exhibit by means of suitable cards or tags.

Made-up plant: A number of identical plants growing or placed together in one pot, not to be judged as a specimen plant.

Mericlone: An individual plant produced through meristem tissue culture propagation and treated as a vegetative division of the clone from which it was produced.

Meristem: Undifferentiated, actively growing cells found in certain parts of a plant; to produce individual mericlones by the technique of propagation; a mericlone.

Meritorious: A term applied to an exhibit which possesses distinct individuality and exceptional horticultural, educational, or artistic value.

Naturalistic (in schedules): A type of exhibit in which the material is displayed in a manner which suggests as nearly as possible its natural growth or habitat.

Novelty: A recent introduction, a seedling, or a sport, possessing unexpected but desirable qualities.

Novice class (in schedules): A class in a show in which amateur exhibitors who have not yet won two blue ribbons may enter.

Open class (in schedules): A class in a show open to all exhibitors.

Originality: The quality of being independently conceived or novel but not bizarre or freakish.

Outstanding exhibit: An exhibit that is prominent and striking for its design, quality, and cultural perfection.

Overcrowded: A common fault resulting from the use of too much material, making it impossible to display each plant to its best advantage.

Panicle: A branching raceme, such as in Gomesa varicosa (syn. Oncidium varicosum).

Private grower: One who employs others to grow or assist in growing their plants but does not derive their livelihood or a substantial income therefrom.

Professional grower: A person who because of education and experience qualifies for horticultural employment and derives their livelihood therefrom.

Proportion (a design principle): Relationship of design areas (including voids) to each other within entire frame of reference.

Provisional award: A conditional award which cannot be certified for publication pending registration of a hybrid, or taxonomic verification of a species or natural hybrid. Previously unawarded, or not identified to the satisfaction of the judging team, species and natural hybrids considered for awards other than CBR or CHM must also be given provisional awards.

Quality: High standard of excellence.

Raceme: An unbranched, elongated inflorescence with pedicellate flowers, as in Cymbidium, Cattleya, Odontoglossum, etc.

Rarity (in point scales): The scarcity of such plants in general cultivation.

Relocation: The act of moving a center or judging site from one location to another. In the AOS context, relocation describes a move from one city, region, state, etc. to another area on an anticipated permanent basis.

Rhythm (a design principle): Presence of continuous visual movement through the design. Scale (a design principle): Measure of component size to individual design parts.

Scape: A leafless flower stalk arising from below, often with a single flower, as in Lycaste.

Seedling: Unless otherwise specified in the schedule, a plant grown from seed and flowering for the first time.

Segment: One of the parts of a leaf, flower or other structure that is cleft or divided. Semi-alba: A term applied to a white flower that has a colored lip.

Show judging: The judging of plants and/or flowers in competition, either individually or in groups, in accordance with the rules of the show.

Size: The dimension of a flower in relation to the normal for its kind.

Species (singular and plural): A group of plants (or animals) showing intergradation among its individual members and having in common one or more significant characteristics which definitely separate it from any other group.

Specimen (in schedules): A single plant of unusual size and number of flowers for the variety, exhibiting fine culture.

Spike: A usually unbranched, elongated inflorescence of sessile or non-pedicellate flowers. Contrasted with raceme.

Spray: This is not a botanical term (sprays are either racemes or panicles) but may be used in a horticultural sense to imply an arching effect.

Substance: The thickness and firmness of tissue in flowers.

Sweepstakes: Unless otherwise specified in the show schedule, a prize to be given to the exhibitor who receives the greatest number of first prizes or points.

Texture: The surface qualities of a flower which enhance appearance.

Umbel: An inflorescence in which the flower stalks arise from a common point, as in Cirrhopetalum.

Variety:

1. A given kind; a plant that varies from the type in one or more important characters. (Also see botanical variety, clonal variety, horticultural variety, and cultivar.)

2. Both as numbers of different genera and variety within one or a few genera. (For use in scoring Groups of Plants, Collection or Cut Flower Exhibits - paragraphs 6.2. 6.4.)

Venue: A locale where an organized event, (single or repeated), takes place (local, city, state, national, international, etc.). Adapted from Wikipedia.