Monitoring and Identification of Vietnamese Paphiopedilum Species Using Vegetative Morphology

Background: Discrimination of Paphiopedilum species using floral morphology has been used
effectively and commonly due to distinct features of their reproductive parts. Most classification
references also focus on description of flower morphology and structure. Nevertheless
species preservation meets great problems when illegal trading plants are mostly at nonflowered
or plantlet stages. Molecular approaches have been applied and obtained highly precise
results but spent time and could not rate 100% of resolution over the genus. Thus, quickly
identification using only vegetative characteristics would be an efficient support for other
distinguishing methods and a remarkable contribution to the detection and prevention of
Paphiopedilum illicit sales.
Aims: In this research we aimed to describe in details leaf features of Paphiopedilum species in
Vietnam serving for quick and easy discriminating species without flower present or laboratory
techniques.
Study Design: Observed variables based on qualitative features of leaf shape, color, vein feature,
thickness, toughness and quantitative features of leaf size were saved and organized using Microsoft
Excel 2010.
Methodology: We minutely analyzed the leaf morphology of nineteen species and two variants which
belongs to Vietnamese Paphiopedilum population in an order manner from parameters that easiest to
be realized to the less clearly traits for the most efficient recognition even to the one who is not
botanist.
Results: 16 out of 20 species were identified using leaf morphology. This rate was up to
100% when combining morphological and molecular methods without the present of their
flowers. An artificial key to genus Paphiopedilum using the vegetative details was first time
established.
Conclusion: Leaf morphology can be effectively used as the first step for identifying Paphiopedilum
species. Our results provided useful tool in severally or in combination with molecular methods in
biodiversity and commercial management of these valuable species. This study will help the
researchers to uncover the critical areas of vegetative morphology that many researchers did not
mentioned. A new theory on artificial key may provide practical use in trading control of endangered
Paphiopedilum species.