Potinara

×Potinara
File:Potinara.jpg
Potinara Hoku Gem, now renamed Brassocattleya Hoku Gem
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Epidendroideae
Tribe:	Epidendreae
Subtribe:	Laeliinae
Alliance:	Hybrids
Genus:	×Potinara hort.
Species
many greges.

Potinara, abbreviated Pot in the horticultural trade, is the nothogenus comprising those intergeneric hybrids of orchids which have Brassavola, Cattleya, Laelia and Sophronitis as parent genera.

It can easily be imagined that a combination of all the desirable qualities of the four genera would be an outstandingly handsome thing. However, plants in which all the desired qualities show up occur in only a small proportion of the offspring, and the percentage of plants homozygous for all qualities even less often. A rather extensive breeding program would be necessary to achieve the ideal results. Many lovely combinations do occur in Potinara crosses, although relatively few have been made.

The search for a way to breed large red hybrids has been given a new boost with the discovery of Cattleya milleri. It is hoped that this species will not offer the genetic difficulties that have plagued hybridists using Sophronitis. Some encouraging results have already been achieved. (C. milleri is one of the grandparents of the pictured Brassocattleya Hoku Gem.)

History

In 2008, the genus Sophronitis was merged into Cattleya, making such nothogenera as Potinara, Sophrolaeliocattleya and Sophrocattleya no longer current, but only of historical interest. At the same time, several species of Cattleya which had been widely used in hybridization were moved into the new genus Guarianthe. (Two species of Brassavola, B. digbyana and B. glauca had been moved into the new genus Rhyncholaelia earlier in the decade.) As a result, greges which were once classified in Potinara are now found in several genera and nothogenera.