Constantia (orchids)

Constantia
	Constantia cipoensis
Systematics
Order :	Asparagales (Asparagales)
Family :	Orchids (orchidaceae)
Subfamily :	Epidendroideae
Tribe :	Epidendreae
Sub tribus :	Laeliinae
Genre :	Constantia
Scientific name
	Constantia
	Barb.Rodr.

In the genus Constantia from the family of orchids (Orchidaceae), there are six species of plants , all of which occur in Brazil. The very small plants measure only a few millimeters and grow epiphytically or on stones.

description

All species of this genus are evergreen, perennial herbaceous plants. The roots emerge from a rhizome and are surrounded by a velamen . The pseudobulbs are close to the rhizome, they are rounded, laterally compressed and asymmetrically shaped. The surface is wrinkled. Depending on the species, they measure around four to 15 millimeters in diameter. Each pseudobulb has two leaves . They are broadly oval in shape, leathery and somewhat wrinkled or ribbed, they measure about half a centimeter in length. The terminal inflorescence appears from a flower sheath. It only bears a resupinated flower , which is large in relation to the rest of the plant and reaches about the same dimensions as pseudobulbs and leaves together. The flower color is white or pink. The sepals are broadly lanceolate, the petals only about half as wide. The undivided lip is roughly the same size as an outer petal. It does not form an externally visible nectarium , but the column within the flower can form a small cavity, which is interpreted as a nectarium. All petals are free, the lip can be fused with the column at its base. At the top, the column carries the stamen , which contains eight pollinia .

distribution

The species are native to eastern Brazil. They colonize dry locations and grow on rocks or on Vellozia .

Systematics and botanical history

The genus Constantia is classified within the orchid family in the tribe Epidendreae . The genera Adamantinia , Isabelia , Leptotes , Loefgrenianthus , Pseudolaelia and Pygmaeorchis are closely related . The further relationship is summarized in the Subtribus Laeliinae .

João Barbosa Rodrigues (1842-1909) named the genus Constantia in 1877 after his wife Constança Eufrosina Barbosa Rodriguez da Borba Paca (1844-1920). She was the Brazilian botanist's third wife. The only species known at the time was Constantia rupestris . Two other species were added to the genus by Porto and Brade in 1935 , one of them, Constantia australis , known for some time as Sophronitis australis . In 1991 Miranda described two more species, the last discovery in this genus is Constantia gutfreundiana, described in 2005 .

species

Type Species: Constantia rupestris
Illustration from:
CFP by Martius : Flora Brasiliensis (1840–1906)

All species except Constantia australis and Constantia rupestris occur only in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. There are the following types:

Constantia australis (Cogn.) Porto & Brade : Brazil (Santa Catarina)
Constantia cipoensis Porto & Brade
Constantia cristinae F.ELMiranda
Constantia gutfreundiana Chiron & VPCastro
Constantia microscopica F.ELMiranda
Constantia rupestris Barb. Rodr. : Brazil from Espirito Santo to Catarina.

Culture

The species are seldom in culture, occasionally Constantia cipoensis . There is a variety of this species called 'Roll's Choice' with a flower diameter of 25 millimeters. A hybrid between Constantia cipoensis and Sophronitis cernua , Conphronitis 'Cerci', was bred.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Constantia. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved April 6, 2020.
^ C. van den Berg, MW Chase: A reappraisal of Laeliinae, taxonomic history, phylogeny and new generic alliances. ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2 archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: The Orchid digest. La Canada Cal 68.2004,4, 223. ISSN 0199-9559

↑ ^a ^b Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymic plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]

literature

CL Withner : The Cattleyas and their relatives. Vol. 3. Schomburgkia, Sophronitis, and Other South American Genera. Timber Press, Portland 1993 pp. 81-87. ISBN 0-88192-269-2

Web links

Commons : Constantia - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Constantia cipoensis . In: Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia.
Constantia rupestris . In: Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia.

[WCSP-1] Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Constantia. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved April 6, 2020.

[2] C. van den Berg, MW Chase: A reappraisal of Laeliinae, taxonomic history, phylogeny and new generic alliances. ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2 archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: The Orchid digest. La Canada Cal 68.2004,4, 223. ISSN 0199-9559

[Burkhardt2018-3] Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymic plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]