Pseudobulb
In botany, a thickened part of the stem axis of sympodial growing orchids is called a pseudobulbe (from the Latin bulbus for " onion "), which serves as a water and nutrient store for the plants and can be very different in shape (see images). Pseudobulbs can also form cavities in which ants nest in some species (e.g. Caularthron bilamellatum ) .
The term "pseudobulbe" was first used in 1837 by John Lindley .
If the pseudobulbs consist of several roughly uniformly thickened internodes as in the genus Dendrobium , one speaks of homoblastic pseudobulbs. In addition to the thickening of their stem axis, a tendency can be observed in many orchids with pseudobulbs to develop leaves no longer evenly distributed over the entire length of the thickened stem, but only in the upper part. The end point of this development are pseudobulbs, which essentially only consist of a single internode with 1–2 leaves at the tip, as is the case with many Bulbophyllum species. In contrast to the above, pseudobulbs of this type are called heteroblastic pseudobulbs.
literature
- FG Brieger, R. Maatsch, K. Senghas (eds.): Rudolf Schlechter: Die Orchideen . I / A. Parey, 1997, ISBN 3-489-58922-X , pp. 11-14 .
- Russell Sinclair: Water Relations in Orchids . In: Joseph Arditti (Ed.): Orchid Biology. Reviews and Perspectives . tape 5 . Timber Press, 1990, ISBN 0-88192-170-X , pp. 77 .
