Identification verifications are available through the SITF for all CBR , CHM, or quality awards to a species that has never been recorded by the AOS judging system. Verifications are also given for provisional awards of species. The hope is that eventually all species awards will be passed through the SITF. The judging center, exhibitor, or whoever desires can send submissions directly to the SITF.

The SITF provides the following guidelines. Often we can make do with less, but if we need additional information after you’ve made the initial submission, the flowers may have faded and it may be too late.

1) Carefully measure and record on the SITF form: a) the plant, including the length of the rhizome between growths; pseudobulbs, ramicauls or stems; the length and width of the leaves, b) the inflorescence, including the measurement of the peduncle and pedicel along with the distance between pedicels c) the flower parts.

2) Record the country of origin or anything known about how the exhibitor got the specimen (which vendor).

3) If the plant has been previously identified by an authority, or if the judging team or the exhibitor used a reference in making their determination, please include this information. Include any information that you think might help us.

4) Take pictures of the whole plant; flower, front and side; the lip and its features; and the column, including the underside and side. More pictures are better than fewer. Including a ruler in the photographs is helpful. These photographs do not need to be taken the day of the award, or taken by the award photographer. We recommend that you try your best to document the flower without destroying it, though often it is the details of the lip and column that define one species from another. Determine if the exhibitor could take more photos if it were required, and if this is possible have the more detailed taken at a later date. SITF tries to do most verifications with photographs but occasionally we need pickled material. The smaller the flower, the more likely we are to require a pickled specimen. If additional flowers and a pickling solution are handy, the exhibitor should consider preserving flowers at this time.

5) Scan any information forms as JPGs and include them, along with the photographs in JPG format, in an e-mail message to awardid@aos.org. Please place the species name, award number or the center name or show name in the subject line, e.g., Paph. spicerianum Toronto center. You can send the pictures as a series of emails, but keep the subject line the same or at least similar so that we recognize a related set of messages. A JPG photograph of the award sheet can also be useful. Please include contact information, preferably email addresses but phone numbers if there is no email.

That is all that the center and/or the exhibitor need to do. The SITF will use this information to confirm the identity of the species and return the result to the center, exhibitor, or both if known. The center can then process the award as usual.

If a center has long standing unresolved or pending awards that still need to be verified, the center is welcome to send them to us and we will try to expedite them. We realize the photos may be insufficient for verification in some cases, but we will do our best.

The Task Force is constantly looking for experts for our pool of contacts. If you know someone with particular expertise who would be willing to help us from time to time, please pass on his or her name.

Lastly, please remember this is service set up by the AOS and the judging system. It relies on volunteers. We realize some time and effort will be required to provide this information. The old system required that the exhibitor and the taxonomic authority obtain all of the information. Now we ask that the center and the exhibitor obtain this information. This system can only work if all involved try to make it work…in other words…it’s your system, help it succeed!