Aspasia, abbreviated as Asp. in the horticultural trade,[1] is a genus of 7 species of orchids occurring from southern Mexico to southern Brazil. The genus is closely related to Miltonia and Brassia. Aspasia species have few medium size flowers of exquisite colors which are occasionally cultivated or used to produce artificial hybrids.
Aspasia exist in four different areas of Central and South America. Some species are exclusively epiphytic on thick stems of the trees a low height, others live on branches where they get more light and a few occasionally appear as lithophytes.
The last area occupied is the Brazilian southeast and south, reaching Bolivia and Paraguay, from 200 to 750 meters, by Aspasia lunata; and Aspasia silvana exclusively at Brazilian Serra do Mar mountains, from Rio de Janeiro to Bahia. These two, as Miltonia do, form large colonies, however, being not particularly common species, they are just occasionally found, mostly on areas of transition between shady forest and open areas both in rain forests and cloud montane forests.[3]
Aspasia lunata is primarily epiphyte on thick stems but often is found living over rock grooves covered by fallen leaves and humid forests where they never are exposed to straight sunlight. Aspasia variegata is found in open forests both in dry and flooded lands, then often on branches of the trees hanging over the waters.[4]
Description
Aspasia silvana was described in 1989, after being confounded with an intergeneric natural hybrid.Aspasia lunata: this star shaped species is the most common in the Southeast of Brazil. It resembles A. silvana but is much smaller.
Aspasia is a genus of comparatively robust plants intermediate of Brassia and Miltonia, to which it is morphologically closer although can be distinguished because its flowers show the labellum partially fused to the column up to the middle then abruptly folded down in a square angle.[5] They are characterized for often showing am elongated rhizome, with thicker roots than Miltonia, with more elliptical or elongated and highly laterally flattened pseudobulbs, protected by some foliar sheaths shorter than the leaves, and one or two apical leaves. These are articulated, basally conduplicate, ligulate sometimes with acute apex, thin and narrow, very malleable, light green colored. The inflorescence is erect or arching, shorter than the leaves and bares one to nine flowers sometimes showy, which open in quick sequence holding at least three of four opened at the same time.[2] The inflorescence shoots among the foliar sheaths on the pseudobulbs bases.
The flowers vary according to the species. The petals from more elliptical to more acute, in some species wider than the sepals, in others narrower or similar in size and shape, from flat to concave. The labellum is fused to the inferior half of the column, seeming to emerge from there and thereafter becoming much wider; the blade varies from slightly to clearly three lobed, flat or reflected, fleshier on the center where they have calli or salient veins. The column is elongated, with or without small inferior auricles and presents a large apical anther with two hard yellow pollinia, stipe and viscidium.
Their flowers last for about ten days, however, as not all open at the same time it is common to have a plant blooming during a whole month. Pollination has not been observed and seems to be uncommon for few plants bearing fruits have been seen in nature, however, their floral morphology indicates the possibility of Euglossinibees pollinators.[3] When Aspasia species are used to produce artificial hybrids, the characteristic that seems to predominate is the low number of resulting flowers by inflorescence, prevailing even over the so floriferousOncidium.
Despite being easy to grow Aspasia species tent to be subject to spots on their thin leaves generally caused by fungi proliferation. They should never be exposed to full sunlight. They are not highly sensitive to temperature but as it varies according to their origin, A. lunata being the one that grows cooler and A. principissa the warmer grower all under intermediate or warm temperatures, when possible it is better to try to reproduce the temperature on their habitats. Also for watering it is important to verify the necessities of each species as they come from different environments. Despite they show a resting period after blooming, Aspasia always need to be watered, more abundantly during active growth. They need at least 75% of humidity and good ventilation all the time. Moderate weekly fertilizing with a balanced formula is beneficial during active growth. They may be potted in a compost of half-chopped Sphagnum, vegetable fiber, and some medium-sized lumps of charcoal, or mounted on plaques of vegetable fiber, however, if mounted, they will need more frequent waterings.[6]
Taxonomic notes
The genus Aspasia was proposed by John Lindley in 1833 when he described its type species, Aspasia epidendroides. The name of the genus is a reference to Aspasia of Miletus a friend of Pericles. Its original description is very brief and mentions the plant was native in Panama and West Colombia. Three years later he described two species more: Aspasia lunata and A. variegata.
Since its first species was described, sixteen names have been submitted to Aspasia, from these, seven are generally accepted as good species, two species remain unclear, six are considered synonyms of the accepted ones, and only one has been moved to another genus: A. pusilla was submitted to the genus Cischweinfia, of which it is the type species.[7]
Being well defined from the start, Aspasia has hardly been a genus subject to disputes. Its only synonym is the genus Trophianthus, proposed in 1844 by Michael Scheidweiler to Aspasia lunata, because of its slight differences from the other successive flowering species,[8] however, this genus was never largely accepted by taxonomists. Provided it was, today it would include also A. silvana. Aspasia lunata was also described again in 1855, by Reichenbach, under the genus Miltonia as M. odorata. Although having initially accepted the genus, Reichenbach decided all Aspasia would be better placed under the genus Odontoglossum and, in 1864, he proposed this transfer.[9] The idea apparently was not welcome and in 1878 Reichenbach was again accepting Aspasia as a good genus because at the time he transferred Odontoglossum psittacinum,[10] a plant re received from Ecuador and described two years earlier, to Aspasia.[11]
Aspasia principissa was described by Reichenbach based on a plant he received from Panama, in 1864,[12] but, in 1949, Paul Hamilton Allen, considering it very close to Aspasia epidendroides, proposed it to be classified just as a variety of the later,[13] however his classification was not widely accepted. In 2004, Eric A. Christenson, claiming that a new species of Aspasia from Colombia was long confused with A. principissa described it as A. omissa.[14]
In 1978, Guido Pasbt illustrated a plant in Orchidaceae Brasilienses under the name Milpasia Leslie-Garay.[15] Later this species was found again in Bahia, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro States of Brazil and it became clear it was not a hybrid but a true species, in 1989, Fábio de Barros described with its current name, Aspasia silvana.[16]
Two species, Aspasia lyrata and A. biberiana, have not been seen again since their original collections and are not positively identified.[17] Both have been described to Brazil. The first, originally described as Epidendrum lyratum, in 1831, was observed by José Maria da Conceição Velloso in Rio de Janeiro.[18] It shows more elongated pseudobulbs of rounder section, and its inflorescence is longer than the leaves with one small flower at the apex. Some taxonomists suppose it might be a natural hybrid, maybe of A. lunata with Miltonia regnellii, or not an Aspasia at all. Provided it really is an Aspasia, then it was the first to be described. The other species, Aspasia biberiana, was described by Reichenbach to Pará State, in Amazon forest; it has solitary green flowers.[19] No known Aspasia from that area fits this description; apparently no taxonomist has checked the original description lately, therefore, more research is needed to positively identify this species. It is possible it was not really from Brazil and is a synonym of A. principissa.
Molecular analysis show that Aspasia most closely related important genera are Miltonia and Brassia, which are included in one of the eight clades that form the subtribus Oncidiinae of tribus Cymbidieae.[20]
Species
Aspasia psittacina is the only species that exists in Ecuador. Although it is the largest Aspasia plant, its flowers are not larger than most.
The species that exist on the Southeast of Brazil are the only two Aspasia to have a flat labellum. They can be easily separated from each other for A. silvana is a larger plant with longer rhizome and pseudobulbs that have an elongated base making them much taller than the ones of A. lunata. The flowers of A. silvana are three times larger than the ones of A. lunata.[21] Both species, like Miltonia spectabilis to which the slightly resemble, have just one flower, hardly ever two, per inflorescence. Both bloom from middle to the end of spring.
All the other Aspasia species bloom in quick succession. Aspasia variegata is similar to A. epidendroides but the plant is much smaller. The pseudobulbs of A. epidendroides are more than two times larger and much flatter, more elliptic, And A. variegata normally shows a flatter labellum with short purple stripes while A. epidendroides has more large stains close to its center. A. variegata blooms between the start of summer and middle fall and presents nice fragrance in the morning.[2]
Aspasia epidendroides, A. omissa and A. principissa are similar but the latter is less robust and with larger flowers than A. epidendroides. Other less noticeable differences include: A. epidendroides has broad transverse markings on the lateral sepals, the column with an elliptic depression below the stigma and the apical half of the labellum is porrect while A. principissa has narrow longitudinal stripes on the lateral sepals, the column with a narrow linear groove below the stigma and the apical half of the labellum is not porrect.[13] When Christenson described A. omissa, he claimed this differences were in fact the ones between A. epidendroides and A. omissa and that the real A. principissa is a plant with larger and more green flowers and general paler colors.
Aspasia psittacina is the only species found in Ecuador. It is vegetatively close to A. epidendroides, with large elliptic and highly flat pseudobulbs, it shows the same colors of the later, but has narrower flowers with the labellum proportionally much smaller.[11]
Related Research Articles
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae, a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth except glaciers. The world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species is found in the tropics.
Phragmipedium is a genus of the Orchid family (Orchidaceae) and the only genus comprised in the tribe Phragmipedieae and subtribe Phragmipediinae. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek phragma, which means "division", and pedium, which means "slipper". It is abbreviated 'Phrag' in trade journals.
Oncidium, abbreviated as Onc. in the horticultural trade, is a genus that, as of December 2023, contains about 340 species of orchids from the subtribe Oncidiinae of the orchid family Orchidaceae. It is distributed across tropical and subtropical America from Mexico, Central America and the West Indies to northern Argentina, with one species (O. ensatum) extending into Florida. Common names for plants in this genus include dancing-lady orchid and golden shower orchid.
Laelia is a small genus of 25 species in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). Laelia species are found in areas of subtropical or temperate climate in Central and South America, but mostly in Mexico. Laelia is abbreviated L. in the horticultural trade.
Brassia is a genus of orchids classified in the subtribe Oncidiinae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and northern South America, with one species extending into Florida.
The Oncidiinae is a subtribe within the Orchidaceae that consists of a number of genera that are closely related.
Miltonia, abbreviated Milt. in the horticultural trade, is an orchid genus comprising twelve epiphyte species and eight natural hybrids. The miltonias are exclusively inhabitants of Brazil, except for one species whose range extends from Brazil into the northeast of Argentina and the east of Paraguay.
Odontoglossum, first named in 1816 by Karl Sigismund Kunth, is a formerly accepted genus of orchids that is now regarded as a synonym of Oncidium. Several hundred species have previously been placed in Odontoglossum. The scientific name of the genus is derived from the Greek words odon (tooth) and glossa (tongue), referring to the two tooth-like calluses on the base of the lip. Species formerly placed in this genus are cool to cold growing orchids to be found on open spots in the humid cloud forest at higher elevations from Central- and West South America to Guyana, with most species around the northern Andes. The abbreviation for this genus is Odm. in the horticultural trade. Many of the species formerly placed in the genus are in great demand with orchid lovers because of their spectacular and flamboyant flowers.
Rhizanthella, commonly known as underground orchids, is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae and is endemic to Australia. All are leafless, living underground in symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi. The inflorescence is a head of flowers held at, or just above the ground but mostly covered by soil or leaf litter and little is known about the mechanism of pollination.
Leptotes, abbreviated Lpt in horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids formed by nine small species that grow in the dry jungles of south and southeast Brazil, and also in Paraguay or Argentina. They are small epiphytic plants of caespitose growth that sometimes resemble little Brassavola, as they share the same type of thin terete leaves, though they are more closely related to Loefgrenianthus.
Tolumnia, is a genus in the family Orchidaceae. Previously known as the "equitant oncidiums," the species were segregated from the mega-genus Oncidium by Guido Braem in 1986. Dancing-lady orchid is a common name for some species in this genus.
× Aliceara, abbreviated Alcra. in the horticultural trade, is the nothogenus for intergeneric hybrids between three orchid genera. The name Cambria is used in the horticultural trade.
× Beallara, abbreviated Bllra. in the horticultural trade, is the nothogenus for intergeneric hybrids between the orchid genera Brassia, Cochlioda, Miltonia and Odontoglossum. As Cochlioda and Odontoglossum have been synonymized with Oncidium, the current genera involved are Brassia x Miltonia × Oncidium = × Aliceara.
Bifrenaria, abbreviated Bif. in horticultural trade, is a genus of plants in family Orchidaceae. It contains 20 species found in Panama, Trinidad and South America. There are no known uses for them, but their abundant, and at first glance artificial, flowers, make them favorites of orchid growers.
Scuticaria is a genus of orchids comprising 9 species native to Belize, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Members of this genus have showy flowers and long cylindrical leaves. They are epiphytic, occasionally lithophytic or terrestrial, that grow pending and are cespitously, or reptant and ascending, which exist is three isolated areas of South America, in Ecuador, Amazon Forest and Serra do Mar and Serra da Mantiqueira mountains, in Brazil, both in shady and sunny places.
Scaphyglottis is a genus of orchids native to Mexico, Central America, northern South America and parts of the Caribbean. The current concept of this genus is the result of combining several genera which have been described at various times. The concept is characterized by the growth habit: not only are new pseudobulbs added at the base of the old ones, but new pseudobulbs also grow at the apices of the old ones. Many species are quite similar and difficult to distinguish, but some are clearly distinct. A few have showy colors. The genus comprises nearly 70 species.
Isabelia is an orchid genus formed by three tiny species and one natural hybrid, spread from the Northeast of Brazil to Argentina, which are closely related to the genus Constantia. During more than a century Isabelia was a genus formed by just one species, however, around 1968, it was merged with genus Neolauchea, also unispecific. In 2001, a third genus was added to it, Sophronitella. The genus name is abbreviated Isa. in cultivation.
Loefgrenianthus blanche-amesiae is a showy orchid species, inhabitant of Serra do Mar mountains in Brazilian southeast. It is the only species of the monotypic genus Loefgrenianthus. It can be differentiated from its closest genus, Leptotes, both because of its pending vegetation with flat leaves and the flowers which have a saccate labellum. Loefgrenianthus blanche-amesiae is highly appreciated by orchid collectors.
Miltonia phymatochila, synonym Phymatochilum brasiliense, is an orchid species native to northeast and southeast Brazil. It is an inhabitant of the Serra do Mar mountains. It vegetatively resembles Oncidium species rather than other Miltonia species and was at one time placed as the only species in the genus Phymatochilum.
Otoglossum is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae, native to South America and Central America.
1 2 3 Freitas Luz, Francisco J. (2001). Orquídeas na Amazônia. Instituto Brasileiro de Cultura, Ed. On Line. ISBN85-208-0208-7
1 2 Miller, David; Richard Warren; Izabel Moura Miller & Helmut Seehawer (2006). Aspasia lunata in Serra dos Órgãos sua história e suas orquídeas, 326-7. Rio de Janeiro.
↑ Miranda, Francisco (2006). Orquídeas da Amazônia Brasileira: 168 & 173 Ed. Expressão e Cultura, 1996. ISBN85-208-0208-7
↑ Hoehne, Frederico C. (1940). Introduction in Flora Brasílica, Vol 12-1: 37. Secretaria de Agricultura de São Paulo.
↑ Baker, Charles O & Baker, Margaret L. (2006). Aspasia in Orchid Species Culture Oncidium/Odontoglossum Alliance: 35–42, Timber Press. ISBN978-0-88192-775-7
↑ R. Govaerts, M.A. Campacci (Brazil, 2005), D. Holland Baptista (Brazil, 2005), P.Cribb (K, 2003), Alex George (K, 2003), K.Kreuz (2004, Europe), J.Wood (K, 2003, Europe): World Checklist of Orchidaceae. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet. (Access March 2009).
↑ Scheidweiler, Michael J.F. (1844). Trophianthus zonatus in Allgemeine Gartenzeitung 12: 218.
↑ Reichenbach, Henrich G. (1864). Odontoglossum in W.G.Walpers, Ann. Bot. Syst. 6: 851.
↑ Reichenbach, Henrich G. (1876). Odontoglossum psittacinum in Linnaea 41: 102.
1 2 Reichenbach, Henrich G. (1878). Aspasia psittacina in Gard. Chron. 10(2): 684.
↑ Reichenbach, Henrich G. (1852). Aspasia principissa in Botanische Zeitungung 10(37): 637-638. Berlin.
1 2 Allen, Paul H. (1949). A. epidendroides var. principissa in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 36(2): 165. Published on the Internet.
↑ Christenson, Eric A. (2004). Aspasia omissa in Richardiana 4: 85.
↑ Pabst, Guido & Dungs, Fritz (1978). Orchidaceae Brasilienses 2: 258, Brucke-Verlag Kurt Schmersow, Hildesheim. ISBN3-87105-010-6
↑ Barros, Fábio de (1989). Aspasia silvana in Hoehnea 15: 94.
↑ Cogniaux, Celestin A.(1902). Aspasia in Flora Brasiliensis K.F.P.von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.) vol.3 p. 6: 203-7. published on Internet.
↑ Velloso, José M.C. (1831). Epidendrum lyratum in Florae Fluminensis 9: t. 37. Rio de Janeiro. Published on the Internet.
↑ Reichenbach, Heinrich G. (1854). Aspasia bibriana in Bonplandia 2: 90. Hanover.
↑ Williams NH, Chase MW, Fulcher T, Whitten WM (2001). Molecular systematics of the Oncidiinae based on evidence from four DNA sequence regions: expanded circumscriptions of Cyrtochilum, Erycina, Otoglossum, and Trichocentrum and a new genus (Orchidaceae) in Lindleyana 16(2): 113-139.
↑ Castro Neto, Vitorino P. (2002). Aspasia silvana in Icones Orchidacearum Brasilienses vol 1. ISBN85-901494-4-7
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