Guarianthe
| Guarianthe | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guarianthe skinneri |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Guarianthe | ||||||||||||
| Dressler & WEHiggins |
Guarianthe is a small genus of the family of orchids (Orchidaceae). It comprises four plant species , all of which are found in Central and South America. The plants usually grow epiphytically or on rocks. They are occasionally cultivatedbecause of their beautiful flowers .
description
All species of this genus form sprouts at a short distance from a creeping rhizome . These are club-shaped, sometimes with a round thickening at the transition to the rhizome, they consist of several internodes and are 20 to 60 centimeters high. The rhizome and shoot are surrounded by membranous, dry lower leaves. At the tip of the pseudobulbs sit two oblong-oval, leathery, evergreen leaves with a pointed tip .
The racemose inflorescence appears from a flower sheath at the tip of the shoot. It bears five to 20 flowers. The resupinated flowers are pink or orange in color. The sepals are narrow-lanceolate, the petals are much wider and slightly crinkled at the edge (in Guarianthe aurantiaca narrow and with a smooth edge). The lip is unlapped, at the base the sides are rolled up around the column . In the middle, the lip shows a colored spot that is different from the otherwise uniformly colored flower. The edge of the lip can be smooth or slightly wavy. The column is club-shaped and about ten to twelve millimeters long. The stamen sits at the end of the column and contains four pollinia . There is a short nectarium (cuniculus) between the ovary and the attachment point of the petals .
distribution
The species of the genus Guarianthe occur mainly in Central America. The area of Guarianthe aurantiaca extends in the north to Mexico, Guarianthe patinii has the southernmost distribution area, which extends from Panama to Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad. The climate is usually characterized by a seasonal drought-related drought. They grow there as epiphytes.
Systematics
Within the subfamily Epidendroideae , the genus Guarianthe is classified in the tribe Epidendreae and there in the subtribe Laeliinae . Sister taxon is the genus Rhyncholaelia . Other close relatives of Guarianthe are Brassavola , Cattleya, and Cattleyella . All species were long listed in the genus Cattleya . It was not until the genetic study by van den Berg et al. found that this group is more closely related to Rhyncholaelia than to the Cattleya species, which are mainly found in South America . In 2003 the new genus Guarianthe was established: the name is made up of guaria , a name common in Costa Rica for orchids, and the Greek name άνθος anthe for "flower".
The following four species have been described in this genus:
- Guarianthe aurantiaca (Bateman ex Lindl.) Dressler & WEHiggins : It occurs from Mexico to Nicaragua.
- Guarianthe bowringiana (O'Brien) Dressler & WEHiggins : It occurs from Mexico to Honduras.
- Guarianthe hennisiana (Rolfe) Van den Berg (Syn .: Guarianthe patinii (Cogn.) Dressler & WEHiggins ): It occurs from Costa Rica to Venezuela and in Trinidad.
- Guarianthe skinneri (Bateman) Dressler & WEHiggins : Sioe occurs from southern Mexico to Nicaragua.
The naturally occurring hybrid between Guarianthe aurantiaca and Guarianthe skinneri is called Guarianthe × laelioides (Lem.) Van den Berg (Syn .: Guarianthe × guatemalensis (T.Moore) WEHiggins ).
Culture
Because of the large, colored flowers, the plants can be found in culture. Compared to other orchids, they make less demands on the cultivation conditions. They were often used as crossbreeding partners.
literature
- Carl L. Withner (1988): The Cattleyas and their relatives. Volume 1. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, ISBN 0-88192-099-1 .
- Robert L. Dressler, Wesley E. Higgins (2003): Guarianthe, a generic name for the “Cattleya” skinneri complex. Lankesteriana 7, pp. 37-38.
Individual evidence
- ^ Cássio van den Berg et al. (2000): A phylogenetic analysis of Laeliinae (Orchidaceae) based on sequence data from internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Lindleyana 15 (2): 96-114. Online, accessed on December 14, 2007 ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The 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.
- ↑ a b c d e f Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Guarianthe. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved July 12, 2018.
