I think Terry misunderstood Peter's comments about the legality of Vietnamese orchids. My understanding is that Peter said that he believed that, according to CITES regulations, any plant that originated directly from Vietnam was illegal. The Antec vietnamense that was sold by them originated in the US, flasked from parents that illegally entered the US and were confiscated. The parent, which came from Vietnam, were illegal. The confiscated plants were offerred to be shipped back to Vietnam. When they declined (or simply did not respond), the paphs were sent to plant rescue centers. I don't know how many, but I believe the NY Botanic Garden was one of them. The Antec plants were produced from seed pods set on the first US grown growths on the parent plants. Therefore, in terms of both CITES and the USFW interpretation of CITES, these vietnamense were fully legal. However, these legal paphs did not originate in Vietnam. I cannot say whether Peter is entirely correct with regard to all Vietnamese orchids, as I have no area of expertise or experience that could confirm or deny Peter's contention. However, other than the Antec vietnamense and helenae which originated from propagated rescued plants, I believe that Peter's statements are probably quite true with regards to paphs. Take care, Eric Muehlbauer in still hot and mosquito (Asian tigers!) infested Queens NY....Paphs charlesworthii and appletonianum in bud.....
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