Orchid Awards
Orchid names may include initials which represent awards. Many organizations around the globe honor outstanding plants and growers. Initials following an orchid name are marks of excellence conferred by expert judges. Abbreviations show the award and the organization separated by a slash (/). These 3 cultivars have received prizes:
- Dendrobium victoria-reginae ‘Blues Brothers’ HCC/AOS (HCC/AOS = Highly Commended Certificate/American Orchid Society)
- Cirrhopetalum rothschildianum ‘Red Chimney’ FCC/AOS (FCC/AOS = First Class Certificate/American Orchid Society)
- Paphiopedilum rothschildianum ‘Golden Gate’ BM/CSA
(BM/CSA = Bronze Medal/Cymbidium Society of America)
A sample of award abbreviations on orchid name tags includes:
- FCC = First Class Certificate
- AM = Award of Merit
- HCC = Highly Commended Certificate
- AQ = Award of Quality
- AD = Award of Distinction
- CCE = Certificate of Cultural Excellence
- CCM = Certificate of Cultural Merit
- CHM = Certificate of Horticultural Merit
- GM = Gold Medal
- SM = Silver Medal
- BM = Bronze Medal
Groups which bestow orchid awards include:
- AOS = American Orchid Society
- RHS = Royal Horticultural Society (UK)
- AOC = Australian Orchid Council
- CAOB = Coordenadoria das Associacoes Orquidofilas do Brasil
- CSA = Cymbidium Society of America
- DOG = Deutsche Orchideen Gesellschaft (Germany)
- JOS = Japan Orchid Society
- OCNZ = Orchid Council of New Zealand
- SAOC = South African Orchid Council
- TOGA = Taiwan Orchid Growers Association
- TOS = Thailand Orchid Society
- WOC = World Orchid Conference (preceded by the conference number, i.e. 20WOC)
The AOS keeps photos of all winning plants, and publishes a complete list in Awards Quarterly. The RHS has kept paintings of every winner since 1897. Expert botanical artists detail the prize flowers in watercolor. The Orchid: From the Archives of the Royal Horticultural Society reproduces hundreds of these remarkable illustrations.
Explore posts in the same categories: Books, Orchid Names, Photos
Subscribe to the About Orchids Blog:
December 16th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Its like alphabet soup! I had no idea what the initials stood for. I always thought they were store codes on the label! This was really a fascinating subject, I am very lucky to have the ability to come to your weblog and I will bookmark this page in order that I might come back again.
December 23rd, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Alphabet soup indeed! When I am looking for orchids to hybridize, I always go with awarded plants. I figure that’s my best bet to breed a winner myself. I’ve entered some of my own crosses in shows in the Paph and Catt families, but I’ve never won for one of my own. I did win a HCC on a paph once (not my cross) and it was one of my proudest momemts. Fingers crossed 🙂
January 2nd, 2012 at 9:39 am
That insight’s perfect for what I need. Thanks!
January 14th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
The blog is cool
January 19th, 2012 at 9:53 am
Love the photos. Thanks for sharing.