Kenni Judd wrote:
Nick: Surely you jest??? How do you suggest the inspecting authorities
train their personnel to recognize these blooms, esp. after they've
inevitably been damaged by shipping, when currently only a small percentage
of either AOS judges or commercial growers might possibly be up to the task?
And, BTW, how would you like to pay for that?

No, I don't jest. A very small number of orchids are CITES Appendix 1.
Since all Phrags and Paphs are listed, identifying them would be very
easy. Apart from the slippers, there are what, seven other species on
Appendix 1? How hard would it be to make up a checklist?

All of the remaining species are already in cultivation in the U.S., so
as you indicate, CITES only makes it difficult to obtain particular
clones from abroad.

Inspections are already required for imported plants, and I would
expect that allowing only blooming plants would greatly reduce the
volume of plants coming through the inspection stations. If there is
increased costs, you could increase permit fees. I'm assuming that the
main purpose is to limit smuggling of wild plants, and facilitating
legal imports is secondary.

Flasks would be unaffected by this suggestion.