French spots were the "discovery" of people who attended the World Orchid Conference in 1984. Their novelty lasted for many years and many people still love them. While their shape is full and their color patterns can be very attractive, they do generally tend to have one major fault – a lack of substance. Most of the French spots have substance similar to Phal. stuartiana, a major component in their makeup.

The breeding of Taiwanese spots (which are generally irregular blotches and bars when compared to the fine even French spotting) has been an ongoing process for several decades. Using American novelty parents, the Taiwanese have produced several beautiful novelty crosses: P. Brother Carol, P. Darling Taiwan, P. Fortune Buddha, P. Hualien Glamour, P. Lung Ching's Grape and P. Princess Spot. But it was twenty-five years ago, in 1975, when Chen Shui Fang (of Paifang’s Orchid Garden) crossed P. Mount Kaala with P. lueddemanniana var. pulchra that this line of breeding got on the fast track. Similar to the American hybrid P. Carnival, also a cross of P. lueddemanniana var. pulchra with a large white (x P. White Medallion), the resulting hybrid, P. Paifang's Queen, has proven to be the foundation in the breeding of the Taiwanese spots.

All the seedlings of the grex were purchased by Brother Orchid Nursery in Taiwan. When they bloomed, almost all were heavily reflexed white flowers overlaid with varying amounts of red blotching. However, one seedling stood head and shoulders above the rest and it was given the clonal name `Brother'. The flowers were larger, less (but still) reflexed and had more red pigment than the others. This plant was stemmed and meristemmed and has now received wide distribution throughout Taiwan, Asia and North America. (It also keikis fairly readily, from the P. lueddemanniana parent.) There are almost one hundred registered hybrids registered using P. Paifang's Queen as one parent. Many of its offspring have received recognition from the AOS including P. Brother Stripes (3 HCCs, 2 AMs), P. Golden Brothers (1 HCC), P. Paifang Queen Rose (1 AM), P. Chiayi Red Queen (1 HCC), and Dtps. Mem. Doctor Ho (1 HCC, 1 AM).

Different breeders have used P. Paifang’s Queen ‘Brother’ for different purposes. When crossed to highly colored stripes, brilliantly colored flowers resulted (e.g. P. Brother Stripes and P. Bright Danseuse). When bred to French spots and pinks, P. Paifang's Queen 'Brother' produced large-sized, finely-spotted flowers such as P. Ho's Queen Elise and Dtps. Mem. Doctor Ho. It should not be surprising to see that it has also been used to produce reds (e.g. P. Talung's Red Fire and P. Brother Rose).

Probably the most interesting line of breeding is the one that has produced a distinct type of spotting pattern unique to Taiwan. This type of spotting/blotching is typified by flowers of 7.5 to 9.0 cm, with large blotches of red to red-lavender. The base color may vary from pristine white to cream to deep yellow. The size and color of the best examples of this line of breeding make an instant impression. However, these hybrids can display some serious flaws. Often, they produce relatively few flowers, somewhat bunched at the end of a comparatively long inflorescence with flowers that show some reflexing of the segments.

The first generation in this line of breeding produced hybrids such as P. Chiayi Spot (x P. Misty Green), P. Brother Glamour (x P. Hualien Glamour), P. Paifang's Auckland (x P. Liu Tuen-Shen), P. Queen Spot (x P. Salu Spot), P. Brother Grape (x P. Lung Ching's Grape), P. Brother Yew (x P. Fortune Buddha), P. Sentra (x P. Three Stars) and, possibly the most important, P. Brother Peacock (x P. Golden Peoker). Second- and third-generation hybrids have been made, many of which produced outstanding results.

At a certain point in time, select first-generation hybrids were linebred to each other, resulting in such hybrids as the unabashedly named P. Super Stupid (Brother Peacock x P. Brother Yew), P. Brother Delight (Brother Peacock x Chiayi Spot) and P. Stone Hot (Chiayi Spot x Talung’s Red Fire). Not all have received wide distribution in North America.

For many of the second-generation hybrids, P. Brother Peacock replaced P. Paifang’s Queen as the parent of choice because of its intense color, large size and relative flatness. To date, it has produced P. Super Stupid and P. Brother Delight (mentioned above) as well as P. Brother Fancy (x P. Brother Grape), P. Harvest Time (x P. venosa) and P. Brother Utopia (x P. Golden Peoker). With the exception of P. Brother Delight, each of these grexes has produced at least one AOS-award winner and, in the case of P. Super Stupid, three cultivars ('Sogo', 'Summit Amethyst' and 'B#1') have received HCCs from the AOS.

By the time the story of P. Super Stupid is finished, it will be a long and interesting tale. Aside from the name which is the English translation of the Mandarin "Da ben dan" (literally Big Dumb Egg), it is making history unlike any other plant from Taiwan. Is it the name? Is it the wide availability? Is it the fact that the flowers are soooo good? Or is it the wide variety of high-quality plants that have been meristemmed and distributed around the world. This is just a partial list of some of the hybrids that have received AOS awards: P. Brother Little Spotty (x P. Baby Angel), P. Brother Wild Thing (x P. Brother Brungor), P. Brother Wildcat (x P. Brother Delight), P. Brother Spots Way (x P. Brother Fancy), P. Brother Sophia (x P. Brother Mirage), P. Sogo Peak (x P. Brother Peak), P. Brother Sally Taylor (x P. Brother Purple), P. Brother Lovesong (x P. Carmela’s Pixie), P. Brother Ruby (x P. Cassandra), P. Sogo Yew (x P. Fortune Buddha), P. Sogo Grape (x P. Princess Kaiulani), P. Brother Marie-Claude (x P. Tabasco Tex), P. Sogo Prince (x P. Yungho Princess Gelb) and P. Brother Pico Mary (x P. equestris)

P. Sogo Peak is one hybrid of P. Super Stupid (x P. Brother Peak) that has never been exported to North America but is making its presence felt here despite this fact. The size of the flowers can be quite large (up to 9 or 10 cm.) but the flowers range from those with only a few spots to those that are almost solid red. Two of its hybrids have received AQs: P. Sogo Cock (x P. Sogo Kaiulani) and an unregistered hybrid with P. Ching Her Buddha. In addition to the AQ it received, P. Sogo Cock has 4 or 5 awarded cultivars to date. This is an absolutely magnificent hybrid which was available for sale at the World Orchid Conference in Vancouver at reasonable prices in Canadian dollars. Most flowers are large, flat and highly colored. The other P. Sogo Peak hybrid (x P. Ching Her Buddha) made its debut in 2000 at the Miami Orchid Show, where it was awarded its AQ, when presented by Ethel Goldberg. Others have been shown elsewhere. This is a hybrid that is worth seeking out and it must be noted that this hybrid is 3/8 Phal. Paifang’s Queen!

And another second-generation hybrid deserves comment: P. Brother Fancy. But what can be said of P. Brother Fancy that hasn’t already been said by people who have seen it? Some clones are more solid than others, some are larger than others but the flowers are all large and red. Sometime, the inflorescence can be quite long and sparsely flowered with the flowers tending to "clump" at the end of the inflorescence. But what a parent it is proving to be! Of its first 10 hybrids, two have already received Awards of Quality: P. Brother Precious Stones (x Brother Purple) and P. Brother Passion (x Brother Utopia). Six of the other eight hybrids have received other AOS awards. These hybrids are P. Brother Excelsior (x Brother Brungor), P. Brother Spots Way (x Super Stupid), P. Jenco Ruby Princess (x Princess Kaiulani), P. Brother Dynasty (x Yungho Princess Gelb), P. Brother Majestic (x Lil Johnson) and P. Brother Fancy Free (x Carmela’s Pixie). In fact the only two hybrids that have not received awards were not distributed in North America. They are P. Brother Elegance (x Brother Delight) and P. Taisuco Sunday (x Taisuco Dot).

Two other P. Paifang’s Queen hybrids, P. Brother Yew (x P. Fortune Buddha) and Talung’s Red Fire (x P. Princess Kaiulani) have produced several outstanding hybrids in the few times they have been used in hybridizing. The offspring of P. Brother Yew include P. Brother Sandra (x P. Cassandra), P. Super Stupid (x P. Brother Peacock) and P. Brother Violet (x P. Jutta Brungor). There are several good P. Brother Yew clones available and we can expect to see more top-quality offspring in the future. P. Talung’s Red Fire is the parent of P. Hueifong Redfire ‘Huei Fong’, AM/AOS (x P. Lee Koi Choon) as well two plants that are being used in breeding in Taiwan, P. Romance Rose (x P. Morgenrose) and P. Yuda Sun (x P. Princess Kaiulani). One of the reasons for the paucity of P. Talung’s Red Fire offspring is a problem with fertility. Many clones do not breed at all and several are only fertile as either the pod or the pollen parent.

The second-, third- and fourth-generation hybrids have, for the most part, continued to produce large spotted flowers. However, the result of crossing two intensely pigmented flowers occasionally produced solid and near-solid offspring such as P. Brother Fancy 'Ping Tong' AM/AOS and P. Brother Spots Way ‘Orchidphile’, HCC/AOS. Moreover, line-breeding has produced large, flat flowers, occasionally with branching on the inflorescence. In March 1997, an Award of Quality was given to a linebred cross of two P. Brother Peacock offspring, P. Brother Utopia x P. Brother Fancy, named P. Brother Passion AQ/AOS.

In spring 1998, both P. Brother Wildcat (P. Super Stupid x P. Brother Delight) and P. Brother Precious Stones (P. Brother Fancy x P. Brother Purple) received an Award of Quality with several plants of each of these grexes also receiving awards. The flowers of P. Brother Wildcat are generally white with varying amounts of amethyst spotting, often much more concentrated centrally while the flowers of P. Brother Precious Stones can be either spotted or appear solid. Some of the solid flowers are such a dark burgundy color as to appear almost black, similar to a very young port. Two other similar crosses, P. Brother Sally Taylor (Super Stupid x Brother Purple) and P. Brother Pirate King (Fortune Buddha x Brother Purple) flowered for the first time in spring 1998. Since then, Brother Sally Taylor has one awarded clone and P. Brother Pirate King has several, ranging from yellow with some spotting to almost solid red burgundy.

P. Sentra, the result of backcrossing P. Three Stars (P. Paifang's Queen x P. Darling Taiwan) back to its parent, P. Paifang's Queen, is proving to be another successful parent in hybridizing. Crossed to P. Salu Spot (P. Paifang's Auckland x P. Golden Amboin) by Ching Her Orchid Nursery in 1995, the resulting P. Golden Sun is a remarkable hybrid with flowers that run the gamut from white to deep yellow overlaid with varying amounts of red spotting, almost attaining solid red in several cultivars. Several hybrids of P. Golden Sun including many sib crosses, back crosses to its parents (P. Ching Her Buddha [Golden Sun x Salu Spot]) as well as line-bred crosses (P. Yellow Beauty [Golden Sun x Salu Beauty] and P. New Sentra [Golden Sun x Green Sentra]) have produced results that are showing up in new breeding lines and will be seen in large quantities by AOS judges in the not too distant future.

Another significant hybrid of P. Paifang’s Queen, P. Paifang’s Auckland (x P. Liu Tuen-Shen) has been used extensively in breeding in Taiwan and has produced many outstanding hybrids. We expect that the story of Phal. Paifang’s Auckland may ultimately be similar to the story of an actor that toils for years in obscurity and then becomes an "overnight" star.

The first P. Paifang’s Auckland hybrid to receive an AOS award was P. Golden Beauty (x P. amboinensis) which received one HCC, one AM and an AQ in 1995. The originator is unknown but this is most assuredly a hybrid that originated in Taiwan. More recently, the ‘Minho’ clone received an HCC in Texas.

Although few hybrids of P. Paifang’s Auckland have received AOS awards, those that have give us the idea that the range of possibilities is endless. Dtps. Ho’s Happy Auckland (x Dtps. Happy Valentine) initially received an HCC and, more recently, an AM. It is a very large white flower, heavily overlaid with red centrally. P. Minho Queen (x P. Ambonosa) ‘Hsing Yah’ was awarded an AM at the South Taiwan Show in 1996: a beautiful canary yellow, heavily overlaid with brownish-red marking. Last, and possibly the most exciting, P. Sogo Red Bird (x P. Princess Kaiulani) ‘Feng Fong’ also received an AM at the same South Taiwan Show. It had three striking 6.2 cm. maroon-red flowers and one bud when awarded. The following year, the author saw it in Taiwan with a multi-branching inflorescence and about fifteen flowers.

Among its first-generation progeny, P. Paifang’s Auckland has several that are worth noting. Many are still "toiling behind the scenes" but they are worth noting now because we will definitely be seeing them or their progeny soon. P. Auckland Buddha (x P. Fortune Buddha), another linebred hybrid, has been used on several occasions and is waiting to be discovered. At least two of its offspring, both beautiful solid reds with a yellow picotee, have been meristemmed in Taiwan: P. Auckland Sentra (Auckland Buddha x Sentra) ‘Ching Her’ and P. Chingruey’s Blackpearl (Chiayi Red Queen x Auckland Buddha) ‘Ching Ruey’, the latter receiving an AM in March, 1998. P. Ho’s Vivid Freckles ‘Song’ (x P. Frisson), a beautiful spotted white flower with heavy substance, has been widely released and it and its offspring will be seen at shows in the future. This cultivar has been used in hybridizing and has produced beautiful offspring. P. Brother Copperwing (Paifang’s Auckland x Carmela’s Spots) has produced many beautiful eye-catching progeny, spotted to the point that it is hard to distinguish the petals from the sepals.

Although a wonderful parent in its own right, P. Paifang’s Auckland is proving to be outstanding in second-generation breeding. As seen above, P. Salu Spot (x P. Golden Amboin) is the parent of the handsome hybrid P. Golden Sun. When P. Salu Spot was bred back to its grandparent, P. Paifang’s Queen, the resulting hybrid, P. Queen Spot was produced. The flowers are generally heavily spotted red over yellow, often giving the appearance of solid red flowers. P. Queen Spot has produced one AM winner to date: P. Sogo Beer (x P. Ta Lin Kaiulani) ‘Sha Yien’, AM/AOS. When awarded, this cultivar produced nine deep magenta flowers and 2 buds on a branched inflorescence. Another P. Queen Spot hybrid (x P. Brother Purple) has just begun blooming, generally producing solid red and red-orange flowers. Even more impressive is a tightly linebred hybrid, P. Chimei Buddha (Paifang’s Auckland x Auckland Buddha). A hybrid of P. Chimei Buddha (bred back to P. Paifang’s Auckland!) was displayed at the Vancouver WOC by Taiwan Sugar Company. It was spectacular! I was interested in purchasing it or a stem propagation but I was told that 50 stem props would be made and all would be kept for breeding by Taiwan Sugar Company. None were available for purchase

Taiwanese spotted flowers, when bred to the French spotted flowers, produce very interesting results such as P. Liseron Yew (Brother Yew x Liseron). P. Frisson was bred to P. Paiho Rose (Barbara Moler x Vicki Sue Lockhart) and P. Paifang's Auckland and the resulting hybrids (P. Brother Mirage and P. Ho's Vivid Freckles, respectively) both have the appearance of French spots but with a great deal of substance.

Although P. Paifang’s Queen is the parent of less than 100 hybrids, it has made an indelible mark on phalaenopsis breeding in 23 years and 4 short generations. In addition to being responsible for a whole new pattern in phalaenopsis, it is behind many of the new red phalaenopsis and some other strikingly marked phalaenopsis. Some people have commented about the fact that many of the hybrids are not "red" red but rather "blue" red. But, let’s face it, we need a so-called fault so that we can correct it. Look for a brilliant RED future.