Second Release of OrchidWiz Encyclopedia Covers Three Times More Orchid Species

The leading orchid software provider, OrchidWiz, LLC, today announced the release of OrchidWiz Encyclopedia 2.0, providing information on almost 27,000 orchid species and more than 125,000 hybrids.

Miami Shores, FL (PRWEB) February 3, 2006 -- The second release of OrchidWiz Encyclopedia raises the number of species to 26,902 from 8,871 in the prior version. Geographical distributions and taxonomy references are provided for 25,774 species, based on Kew’s List of Monocots. Users can list orchid species by continent, region and country, along with several other criteria.

Encyclopedia 2.0 includes an additional 2,845 photos, including 2,412 photos made available by volunteers. Some are photos of never-before-seen hybrids, such as Angraecentrum Rumrill Prodigy, a rare cross between Angraecum eichlerianum and Ascocentrum pumilum. Other rare crosses displayed include Chyletia Rumrill Vanguard (Chysis bractescens x Bletia purpurea) and Galeansellia Gondwanaland (Galeandra baueri x Ansellia gigantea).

Some of the new photos are of different color forms of the same species. For example, Encyclopedia 2.0 features photos of 14 separate horticultural varieties of Laelia purpurata, including Laelia purpurata fma. alba, Laelia purpurata var. carnea and Laelia purpurata var. werckhauseri. The total number of orchid images in the OrchidWiz database now stands at almost 8,500. For 51,554 hybrids, Encyclopedia 2.0 can show at least one parent image; for 11,978 hybrids, it can show both parents.

New in 2.0, the software details separately the number of flowers, buds and inflorescences, extracted from 49,745 American Orchid Society awards. These comprise 97.8% of all awards given by the AOS since January 2, 1969. Throughout the program, the “average flowers and buds per inflorescence” calculation is provided for comparison between orchids and their ancestry. This statistic, when combined with median natural spread, allows orchid enthusiasts to quickly identify genealogical inheritance traits related to floriferous-ness and size.

Encyclopedia 2.0 includes features for both expert and hobby growers. For example, hobby growers may now print a cultivation report for each separate hybrid, detailing water recommendation, species percentage calculations, and light and temperature recommendation based on species composition.

Finally, the new version includes the latest Royal Horticultural Society quarterly registrations, and AOS Awards Quarterly, both dated December, 2005. OrchidWiz Encyclopedia now contains six months of data not available in any other software.

OrchidWiz, LLC, is a software company based in Miami Shores, Florida. The company develops computer programs for the orchid-growing community. The creators of OrchidWiz express their sincere appreciation to the people and organizations whose publications were sourced or consulted in the production of Encyclopedia 2.0, including the Royal Horticultural Society’s Sander’s (various publications), List of New Orchid Hybrids and World Checklist of Monocotyledons; the American Orchid Society’s Awards Quarterly and Register of Awards; Howard Bronstein and Ursula Hoffman’s AOS Awards 2002 Edition; Joe and Helga Gray’s Wildcatt; Robert H. Hamilton’s Flowering Months of Orchid Species Under Cultivation; and Robert L. Dressler’s Phylogeny and Classification of the Orchid Family. A portion of the 2006 OrchidWiz Encyclopedia proceeds will be donated to the American Orchid Society’s Judging Program.

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