Classification

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Female Orchid Classification System

Introduction

At the heart of FOCS is orchid pattern recognition. This is not a new concept for orchids, however all previous attempts to somehow make sense of all the orchid variations barely scratched the surface of what makes orchids the same, and what makes orchids different.

In developing FOCS, tens of thousands of orchid images were analyzed for the minutia of each orchid feature, categorizing the common features, then drawing general conclusions (hypothesis) on how they might be classified. The most difficult exercise in FOCS development was the exhaustive search for examples that would discount the initial hypothesis (break the rules). Over many years, and revisions to the hypothesis, FOCS was deemed initially complete when no examples could be found that break the rules (the hypothesis). That’s not to say FOCS is finished, as there are many more insights obtained through the initial development that will be addressed in future versions of FOCS.

In the following Classification Sections, the basic rules for orchid classification, new vocabulary for articulating orchid features and an abundant number of illustrated images of orchids and features provide the validity for Female Orchid Classification System.

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