Lycaste

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Lycaste
Lycaste virginalis Orchi 07.jpg
Lycaste skinneri
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Cymbidieae
Subtribe: Maxillariinae
Genus: Lycaste
Lindl., 1843
Species

See text

Synonyms [1]
  • Deppia Raf.
  • SelbyanaArchila
  • × LycobyanaArchila

Lycaste, abbreviated as Lyc. in horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids that contains about 30 species with egg-shaped pseudobulbs and thin, plicate (pleated) leaves.

Contents

Description

Lycaste flowers, like all orchid blooms, have three petals and three sepals. The petals are typically yellow, white, or orange, and the sepals are yellow, orange, green, or reddish brown. The petals and sepals may be marked sparsely or densely with red, reddish purple, purple, or reddish brown spots. The lip (ventral petal) may be very similar to the other two petals, as in Lycaste aromatica or Lycaste brevispatha , or colored quite distinctively, as in several subspecies and varieties of Lycaste macrophylla . Most Lycaste flowers are medium in size, averaging about 5 to 10 cm, but Lycaste schilleriana is 16–18 cm across. Some Lycaste blooms have a unique fragrance - the scent of Lycaste aromatica has been variously described as cinnamon or clove. The blooms of the species Lycaste cochleata , Lycaste consobrina , and Lycaste cruenta also have a pleasant scent.

Taxonomy

The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, is recognized by the American Orchid Society as the definitive authority on orchid taxonomy. The Checklist currently acknowledges 31 species of Lycaste, 3 natural hybrids, 2 subspecies (and 1 nominate subspecies), and 1 variety. Orchid growers and orchid collectors, who tend to be taxonomic splitters more often than lumpers, recognize additional subspecies and varieties of Lycaste, as well as alba (white) forms of several species.

Sections

The Lycastes are divided into four sections and two subsections:

All but two of the Deciduosae have spines at the apices of their pseudobulbs, that become exposed when the leaves are dropped. The exceptions are the Xanthanthae species Lycaste lasioglossa and the Paradeciduosae species Lycaste tricolor . Both of these species lack spines, and may bloom when leaves are still present.

List of species by section

Xanthanthae

Lycaste aromatica Lycaste aromatica.jpg
Lycaste aromatica

Paradeciduosae

Lycaste Cassipeia 'Autumn glow' Lycaste-Cassiopeia.jpg
Lycaste Cassipeia 'Autumn glow'

Macrophyllae

Lycaste xytriophora Lycaste Xytriophora.jpg
Lycaste xytriophora
Lycaste dowiana Lycaste dowiana - Flickr 003.jpg
Lycaste dowiana

Fimbriatae

Natural hybrids

Hybrids

A 2002 revision of the Lycaste genus moved many species of the section Fimbriatae to a new genus, Ida . The 34 species of Ida occur in South America and the Caribbean Islands (Ida barringtoniae), while true Lycastes occur mostly in Mexico and Central America. The genus Ida is recognized by the World Checklist of Monocotyledons.

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<i>Lycaste cruenta</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Dactylorhiza incarnata</i> Species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae

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<i>Caladenia flava</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Psychopsis</i> Genus of plants

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<i>Lycaste aromatica</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Dendrobium discolor</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Dendrobium tetragonum</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Bulbophyllum weinthalii</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Sudamerlycaste</i> Genus of orchids

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<i>Encyclia candollei</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Arthrochilus huntianus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Xylonagra</i> Genus of flowering plants

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References

  1. "Lycaste". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.