Rhynchostylis

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Rhynchostylis
Rhynchostylis retusa (Foxtail orchid).jpg
Rhynchostylis retusa
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Vandeae
Subtribe: Aeridinae
Genus: Rhynchostylis
Blume
Type species
Rhynchostylis retusa
(Sw.) Blume.
Synonyms [1]

AnotaSchltr.

Rhynchostylis (abbreviated Rhy in the horticultural trade) is a genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), closely allied to the genus Vanda (from which it differs in the one-lobed lip of the flower) and comprising four currently accepted species native to the Indian Subcontinent, China, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. [1] [2]

Contents

Etymology

The name consists of a compound of two Greek elements : rhynchos 'beak' and stylis 'column' – in reference to the very broad, fleshy column of the flower.[ citation needed ]

Description

The flowers are borne in dense racemes and are noted for their intense, spicy fragrance. Although lacking in pseudobulbs, the plants have leathery leaves that are drought-resistant. These orchids grow naturally in warm, moist, shaded tropical areas and will thrive in cultivation if given consistent warmth, uniform moisture and bright, but indirect light. Hobbyists wanting to grow them will need a warm, humid growing environment with gentle air movement. They can be grown in pots, but are better grown in baskets, owing to the extreme fleshiness of their roots. Their unusually fragrant blooms often appear in the slightly cooler winter months. [3]

Cultivation

Despite being in the Vanda tribe, they are very different from vandas. They grow more slowly, their roots are more fragile, and almost any direct sun will harm them. However, they are typically grown with no potting mix on slat baskets or mounted in the same way as vandas. [4] [5]

Uses

The genus possesses valuable medicinal properties meriting in-depth pharmacological investigation, including antispasmodic and antiseptic activity. [6] Several species have been found to contain alkaloids. [7]

Taxonomy

Placement in subtribe Aeridinae

The Subtribe was changed from Sarcanthinae (Benth, 1881) to Aeridinae (Pfitzer, 1887) in 1972. [8] [9]

Species

As of December 2023, four species are recognized: [10]

Formerly included

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeridinae</span> Subtribe of orchids

In the botanical classification of plants, Aeridinae Pfitzer is a subtribe of the tribe Vandeae whose representatives all have a monopodial growth habit and do not possess pseudobulbs.

<i>Vanda</i> Genus of orchids

Vanda, abbreviated in the horticultural trade as V., is a genus in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. There are 90 species, and the genus is commonly cultivated for the marketplace. This genus and its allies are considered to be among the most specifically adapted of all orchids within the Orchidaceae. The genus is highly prized in horticulture for its showy, fragrant, long-lasting, and intensely colorful flowers. Vanda species are widespread across East Asia, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea, with a few species extending into Queensland and some of the islands of the western Pacific.

<i>Aerides</i> Genus of orchids

Aerides, known commonly as cat's-tail orchids and fox brush orchids, is a genus belonging to the orchid family. It is a group of tropical epiphyte orchids that grow mainly in the warm lowlands of tropical Asia from India to southern China to New Guinea. They are valued in horticulture for their racemes of showy, fragrant, colorful flowers.

<i>Plocoglottis</i> Genus of orchids

Plocoglottis is a genus of orchids, native to Southeast Asia and to various islands from the Andaman Islands to the Solomons.

<i>Tainia</i> Genus of orchids

Tainia, commonly known as ribbon orchids or 带唇兰属 is a genus of about thirty species of evergreen, terrestrial orchids in the distributed from India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Queensland.

<i>Tropidia</i> (plant) Genus of orchids

Tropidia, commonly known as crown orchids, is a genus of about thirty species of evergreen terrestrial orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They have thin, wiry stems with two or more tough, pleated leaves with a flowering spike at the top of the stem, bearing crowded flowers. Species in this genus are distributed across the warmer parts of both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

<i>Luisia</i> Genus of orchids

Luisia, commonly known as velvet orchids or 钗子股属 , is a genus of epiphytic or lithophytic orchids in family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus have flattened roots, long leafy stems, narrow, thick, leathery leaves and short-lived flowers that open sporadically. There are about forty species found from tropical and subtropical Asia to the Western Pacific.

<i>Trichoglottis</i> Genus of orchid

Trichoglottis, commonly known as cherub orchids or 毛舌兰属 , is a genus of flowering plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are epiphytic plants with thick roots, relatively thick, fibrous stems and many large, thick, leathery leaves arranged in two ranks. The flowers are usually small and yellowish with light brown or purple markings. The flowers have broad sepals, narrower petals and a labellum which has three lobes and is often hairy. There are about 85 species distributed from tropical and subtropical Asia to the north-western Pacific. Most species grow in rainforest.

<i>Rhynchostylis gigantea</i> Species of orchid

Rhynchostylis gigantea is a species of orchid. This species was first described in 1896 by John Lindley and is native to Borneo, Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China (Hainan) and the Philippines.

<i>Rhynchostylis retusa</i> Species of orchid

Rhynchostylis retusa is an orchid, belonging to the Vanda alliance. The inflorescence is a pendant raceme, consisting of more than 100 pink-spotted white flowers. The plant has a short, stout, creeping stem carrying up to 12, curved, fleshy, deeply channeled, keeled, retuse apically leaves and blooms on an axillary pendant to 60 cm (24 in) long, racemose, densely flowered, cylindrical inflorescence that occurs in the winter and early spring. It is famous for its use as a hair-ornament worn by Assamese women during folk dance Bihu on the onset of spring.

<i>Brachypeza</i> Genus of orchids

Brachypeza, commonly known as sage orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus have short stems with fleshy leaves and arching flowering stems with short-lived flowers. The sepals and petals are similar in size and shape and the labellum is pouch-like and suspended at the base of the flower. Sage orchids occur in tropical areas from Indochina to New Guinea.

<i>Thelasis</i> Genus of orchids

Thelasis, commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to three leaves, whilst others have several leaves in two ranks. A large number of small, white or greenish yellow flowers are borne on a thin, arching flowering stem. There are about thirty species, distributed from tropical and subtropical Asia to the southwest Pacific.

<i>Micropera</i> Genus of orchids

Micropera, commonly known as dismal orchids or 小囊兰属 is a genus of about twenty species of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are large epiphytes with thick roots, long, fibrous stems, linear leaves and whitish or yellow, non-resupinate flowers. The sepals and petals are similar to each other and the labellum is shoe-shaped or sac-like and has three lobes. It is found from Tibet to tropical Asia and the western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Microsaccus</i> Genus of orchids

Microsaccus is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia.

<i>Peristylus</i> Genus of orchids

Peristylus, sometimes commonly known as ogre orchids or bog orchids is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It consists of over 100 known species found across much of eastern and southern Asia as well as in Australia and on many islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

<i>Pomatocalpa</i> Genus of orchids

Pomatocalpa, commonly known as bladder orchids, or 鹿角兰属 , is a genus of about twenty five species from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are epiphytes or lithophytes with thick, leathery leaves and a large number of small flowers with a three-lobed labellum. There are about twenty five species found from tropical and subtropical Asia to the south-west Pacific.

<i>Pteroceras</i> Genus of orchids

Pteroceras is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is native to China, the Indian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia.

<i>Schoenorchis</i> Genus of orchids

Schoenorchis, commonly known as flea orchids, or 匙唇兰属 in Chinese, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are small epiphytes with thin roots, thin leafy stems with leaves in two ranks and tiny fragrant, almost tube-shaped flowers with a prominently spurred labellum. There are about twenty five species found from tropical and subtropical Asia to the Western Pacific.

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

Rhomboda, commonly known as velvet jewel orchids, is a genus of about twenty species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are mostly terrestrial herbs with a fleshy, creeping rhizome and a loose rosette of green to maroon coloured leaves. Small resupinate or partly resupinate, dull coloured flowers are borne on a hairy flowering stem. The dorsal sepal and petals overlap and form a hood over the column and there is a deep pouch at the base of the labellum. They are found in tropical regions from northern India through Southeast Asia, China, Japan to Australia and some Pacific Islands.

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. Flora of China v 25 p 474, 钻喙兰属 zuan hui lan shu, Rhynchostylis Blume
  3. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids ed. Pridgeon, Alec, pub. Lansdowne Publishing Pty Ltd. Australia 1992 and David and Charles UK 2003. ISBN   0 7153 1782 2
  4. "AOS Sheet on Rhynchostylis Gigantea".
  5. "Jay's IOSPE on Rhynchostylis".
  6. Orchid Biology: Reviews and Perspectives, III ed. Arditti, Joseph, pub. Comstock Publishing Associates - a division of Cornell University Press 1984 ISBN   0-8014-1040-1 (v.1) : Chapter 2 : Ethnobotany of the Orchidaceae by Lawler, Leonard J. page 101
  7. Genera Orchidacearum: Epidendroideae edited by Alec M. Pridgeon, Phillip J. Cribb, Finn N. Rasmussen, Mark W. Chase
  8. Vandeae
  9. "Molecular phylogenetics of Vandeae (Orchidaceae) and the evolution of leaflessness". Archived from the original on October 21, 2015.
  10. "Rhynchostylis Blume". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  11. Jordan J. Biol. Sci. 11(3): 257, figs. 1-2 (2018).
  12. "Vanda coelestis (Rchb.f.) Motes". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 16 December 2023.