Eulophia speciosa | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
Genus: | Eulophia |
Species: | E. speciosa |
Binomial name | |
Eulophia speciosa | |
Synonyms | |
See text |
Eulophia speciosa is a species of terrestrial orchid found from Ethiopia to South Africa and in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The plants usually grow in grasslands in sandy soils or in clay. [1]
The fleshy, lanceolate leaves arise from underground corms/pseudobulbs. [1] The leafless flowering shoot is about 0.4-0.8 m (up to 1.2m [2] ) tall, with up to 30 comparatively large flowers in an unbranched raceme. [1] The flowers measure about 25–45 mm in diameter, and are yellow with red markings on the lip of the side lobes. [1]
This species is common in most parts of its distribution range in southern Africa, [1] however it does make a good garden plant [2] and is vulnerable to collectors. In South Africa, all orchids are protected by law and the plants must not be removed from the wild without a permit; only nursery-grown plants can be cultivated legally. [1] These plants are used in African tradition as an emetic and as a protective charm against storms. [2]
Lissochilus speciosus R.Br. ex Lindl. is the basionym. Other synonyms include:
Coelogyne is a genus of 594 species, which are sympodial epiphytes from the family Orchidaceae, distributed across India, China, Indonesia and the Fiji islands, with the main centers in Borneo, Sumatra and the Himalayas. They can be found from tropical lowland forests to montane rainforests. A few species grow as terrestrials or even as lithophytes in open, humid habitats. The genera BolborchisLindl., HologynePfitzer and PtychogynePfitzer are generally included here. The genus is abbreviated Coel. in trade journals.
Phaius, commonly known as swamp orchids or in Chinese as 鶴頂蘭屬/鹤顶兰属 , is a genus of forty-five species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. They are evergreen, terrestrial herbs which form clumps with crowded, sometimes stem-like pseudobulbs, large, pleated leaves and relatively large, often colourful flowers. Species in this genus are found in the tropical parts of Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. One species is also naturalized in Hawaii, Florida, and the Caribbean.
Satyrium is a genus of orchid. The Kew plant list for 2010 listed 85 full species as accepted, ignoring synonyms, subspecies and hybrids etc. About ten were still unresolved at the time. Most of the species occur in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. The ranges of four species extend to Asia, mainly in India and Sri Lanka. Hybridization occurs between several species, complicating molecular phylogenetic studies, especially those relying on mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA sequences.
Holothrix is a genus of flowering plants in family Orchidaceae. It includes 48 species native to sub-Saharan Africa and the southwestern Arabian Peninsula.
Polystachya, abbreviated Pol in horticultural trade, and commonly known as yellowspike orchid, is a flowering plant genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). This rather distinctive genus was described by William Jackson Hooker in 1824 and is the type genus of the subtribe Polystachyinae. It contains about 100 species widespread across many of the tropical areas of the world.
Phreatia, commonly known as lace orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae, native to regions bordering the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Plants in this genus are epiphytes, sometimes with pseudobulbs, in which case there are usually one or two leaves. Others lack pseudobulbs but have up to twelve leaves. A large number of small white or greenish flowers are borne on a flowering stem emerging from a leaf axil or from the base of the pseudobulb when present but the flowers do not open widely. There are about 220 species, distributed from tropical and subtropical Asia to the Pacific.
Orthochilus is a genus of orchids that consists of at least 34 species, most of which are native to Africa and Madagascar with a few species in tropical and subtropical America. The genus was first formally described in 1850 by the French botanist Achille Richard, who cited an earlier suggestion by the German botanist Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter. Richard recognized a single species, Orthochilus abyssinicus, and noted that the genus shared many features with the closely related genus Eulophia, but differed from it in the form of the pollen masses and caudicule, a stalk to which the pollen masses are attached. The genus Orthochilus has often been viewed as a synonym of the larger genus Eulophia by many botanists, but a recent molecular phylogeny published in 2014 revealed that Eulophia, as traditionally circumscribed, was paraphyletic unless Orthochilus was recognized as a separate genus.
Brachycorythis is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It contains approximately 40-50 species native mostly to Africa and Madagascar but also some from South and East Asia.
Cynorkis is a genus of orchids in the subtribe Orchidinae. Species in this genus are native to mainland Africa, the Comoro Islands, the Mascarene Islands, and Madagascar.
Diaphananthe is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. As currently conceived, it contains 33 accepted species, all endemic to sub-Saharan Africa.
Tridactyle is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It has about 60-70 known species, all native to sub-Saharan Africa.
Oeceoclades, collectively known as the monk orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is related to Eulophia and like that genus is mostly terrestrial in habit. A few species extend into very arid environments, unusual for an orchid.
Rhipidoglossum is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It contains 53 species, all from sub-Saharan Africa.
Bonatea is a genus of orchids native to tropical and southern Africa, with one species extending into Yemen and Saudi Arabia.