I have begun to receive a large number of emails asking why I say on my website the Rare Thailand Parrot Flower in an Impatiens and not an orchid. It appears someone is using the photos of the Parrot Flower as an advertising gimmick to get you to click on their site and subscribe to their "joke" services. If you like jokes, go ahead. But they say right at the top it is an orchid. It is not! The plant was described to science in 1901 and is scientifically Impatiens psittacina. An orchid and an Impatiens are very different plants. Orchids have three petals and three sepals. They are layered with the petals sitting in front of the sepals. And in most cases the lower petal is called a "runway". Sometimes the "runway" can also be at the top. Impatiens do not have this arrangement. Although it is related to the Impatiens species you grow in your yard, it is very rare and you'll not likely ever be able to own or grow one. But don't fall for the story it is an "orchid". It IS NOT! One word of caution. I made the mistake approximately one year ago of clicking on the email that is circulating from this "joke" company. I then began to receive tons of SPAM from many different sources. Many of the "jokes" were things I would never want in my mailbox. They had a place on the site where you could ask to be removed, but the more I asked to be taken off the list, the more junk I received from different sources and other "joke" companies! If you signed up for the jokes, be aware you may be receiving things you do not want! I finally got off, but it took a long time of repeatedly asking to be removed.
Ed, as you know, I use a tracking service to try to better the content on my website. For about 2 months I've been having a ton of people type "Parrot Flower orchid" into one of the major search engines. I could not figure out who was saying the plant was and orchid until a lady forwarded their email to me this morning. Right on their page they call it the "Parrot Flower Orchid". The people that are using the photos are not trying to promote the plant. They are using the email because they know people will forward the photos to others. But to see the info you must "subscribe" to their joke email list. I made the big mistake some months ago of falling for this trick used by the same company with a different email. I will never click on one of their links again! Once you get on their list they add you to all kinds of lists and junk mail just floods in! They have a place where you can ask to be removed but every time I'd ask to be removed I'd be added to another list! I finally found the mailing address of the company and demanded to be removed. After a bunch of emails they finally took me off the lists. But in the meantime I had to buy a program to blacklist them and trash all their mail! Just a warning to anyone who receives that email with the Parrot Flower photos! But if you know anything about orchids, it is easy to see the Impatiens is not an orchid!
