Bletia

Bletia patula, illustration from Curtis 's Botanical Magazine

The genus Bletia from the orchid family (Orchidaceae) comprises 35 species, all of which occur in tropical America. The plants grow terrestrially in savannas or rare, near water. Due to their large flowers they are occasionally cultivated.

Description

All species of this genus form a short distance shoots, which are thickened to roundish tubers. The few roots are fleshy and surrounded by a velamen from three to four cell layers. The tubers most densely sit below the surface. They consist of several internodes. At the top sit two to four true leaves. The leaves are oblong - oval, thin and along the numerous prominent leaf veins folded. At the base they are running from in a wedge-shaped petiole. You can connect up a meter reach a length of one-half.

The upright inflorescence appears laterally from the base of the shoot tubers, either from below or at the base of the leaves of sheets enclosed. He is racemose or little branched, towered over the leaves and carries up to 50 flowers. The flowers of the inflorescence bloom from the bottom up. The resupinierten flowers are red, pink, white or yellow. The three sepals are almost identical in shape and not grow together. The lateral petals are often formed substantially wider than the outer petals, sometimes they are inclined forward, and include the column. The lip is three-lobed, grown at the base of the column. The two lateral lobes are erect, the middle lobe ends blunt or is further divided into two lobes. On the lip along a callus runs of several keels. The slightly curved column is winged and has no foot. The stamen sits terminal and contains eight soft or hard pollinia. The four sit one above the other in a compartment.

Some species are known to be pollinated by bees.

Dissemination

The species of the genus Bletia come from the northern edge of the American tropics in Florida and Mexico through Central America to southern Brazil and northern Argentina before. The sites are mostly bright pine-oak forests, savannas and grasslands with a dry season at altitudes 0-2700 meters. Some species occur in moist river banks and in the tropical rain forest, some in dry thorn bushes. The greatest diversity prevails in Mexico.

System

Within the subfamily Epidendroideae the genus Bletia is classified in the subtribe Bletiinae. While Dressler, this subtribe in the tribe Arethuseae, other authors see them in the Epidendreae and reduce the related genera in the subtribe Bletiinae on Hexalectris and Basiphyllaea. Type species of this genus is Bletia catenulata.

The following 33 species and three natural hybrids have been described in this genus:

  • Bletia adenocarpa Rchb.f., Mexico.
  • Bletia amabilis C.Schweinf. , Mexico.
  • Bletia Antillana M.A.Diaz & Sosa, Cuba.
  • Bletia campanulata Lex in La Llave & P.de JMde Lexarza, large area of Mexico to northern Argentina.
  • Bletia candida Kraenzl. , Colombia.
  • Bletia catenulata Ruiz & Pav, northern Andes from Colombia to Bolivia and eastward to Brazil.
  • Bletia coccinea Lex in La Llave & P.de JMde Lexarza, Mexico.
  • Bletia concolor Dressler, Mexico.
  • Bletia ensifolia L.O.Williams, Mexico.
  • Bletia florida ( Salisb. ) R.Br. in W.T.Aiton. , Cuba and Jamaica.
  • Bletia gracilis Lodd. , Mexico to Guatemala.
  • Bletia greenmaniana L.O.Williams, Mexico.
  • Bletia greenwoodiana Sosa, Mexico.
  • Bletia lilacina A.Rich. & Galeotti, Mexico.
  • Bletia macristhmochila Greenm. , Mexico.
  • Bletia meridana ( Rchb.f. ) Garay & Dunst. , Venezuela.
  • Bletia neglecta Sosa, Mexico.
  • Bletia nelsonii Ames, Mexico.
  • Bletia netzeri Senghas, Dominican Republic.
  • Bletia parkinsonii Hook., Mexico.
  • Bletia patula Hook., Southern Florida and the Caribbean.
  • Bletia punctata Lex in La Llave & P.de JMde Lexarza, Mexico.
  • Bletia purpurata A.Rich. & Galeotti, Central America.
  • Bletia purpurea ( Lam.) DC., From southern Florida and Mexico south to Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.
  • Bletia reflexa Lindl., Central America.
  • Bletia riparia Sosa & Palestina, Mexico.
  • Bletia roezlii Rchb.f., Central America.
  • Bletia similis Dressler, Mexico.
  • Bletia stenophylla Schltr. , Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.
  • Bletia tenuifolia Ames & C.Schweinf. , Mexico.
  • Bletia uniflora Ruiz & Pav, Peru.
  • Bletia urbana Dressler, Mexico, the stock is at high risk.
  • Bletia villae Soto Arenas, Mexico.
  • Bletia warfordiana Sosa, Mexico.
  • Bletia × ekmanii Serguera & Sánchez lot., Mexico. = ( Bletia patula × Bletia purpurea)
  • Bletia × similis Dressler, Mexico. = ( Bletia adenocarpa × Bletia concolor)
  • Bletia × tamayoana S.Rosillo ex Soltero, Mexico. = ( Bletia amabilis × Bletia coccinea)

The list of the Botanical Gardens Kew mentions the large number of 160 synonyms.

Culture

Due to the large, colorful blossoms of some species are found in culture. These are planted in permeable soil mixes and need a dry rest period.

Documents

  • C. H. Dodson, C. A. Luer (2005): Orchidaceae part 2 (Aa - Cyrtidiorchis ). In: G. Harling, L. Andersson ( eds.): Flora of Ecuador. Vol 76, pp. 69ff. Botanical Institute, Göteborg University, ISBN 91-88896 -51- X
  • Robert L. Dressler (1993 ): Phylogeny and Classification of the Orchid Family. 186 pp. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-45058-6
  • Alec M. Pridgeon, Phillip Cribb, Mark W. Chase: Genera Orchidacearum. Vol 4/1: Epidendroidae ( Part one ). Oxford University Press, 2005. Pp. 167-170. ISBN 0-19-850712-7
Resupination Labellum (botany) Pollinium
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