''Pomatocalpa'', commonly known as bladder orchids, or 鹿角兰属 (lu jiao lan shu), is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about twenty five species from the orchid

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

. Plants in this genus are

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

s or

lithophyte Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...

s 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 The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

to the south-west

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

Description

Orchids in the genus ''Pomatocalpa'' are

monopodial Vascular plants with monopodial growth habits grow upward from a single point. They add leaves to the apex each year and the stem grows longer accordingly. The word ''Monopodial'' is derived from Greek language, Greek '', ''one'' and '', "foot", in ...

epiphytic or lithophytic

herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

with long, thick roots attached to the substrate, with fibrous stems and long-lasting leaves arranged in two rows with their bases obscuring the stems. A large number of relatively small flowers are arranged on a

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

and with

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s and

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s that are similar to each other and a labellum that has three lobes.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Pomatocalpa'' was first formally described in 1829 by

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

in ''Genera et Species Orchidearum et Asclepiadearum''. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

is '' Pomatocalpa spicatum''. The name ''Pomatocalpa'' is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

words ''pomatos'' meaning "cover", "lid", "operculum" or "gill-cover" and ''kalpe'' meaning "vessel for drawing water", "pitcher" or "urn", referring to the deeply pouched labellum. Species list: The following is a list of species accepted by the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) was an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected p ...

as of December 2018: * '' Pomatocalpa angustifolium'' Seidenf. - Thailand, Vietnam * '' Pomatocalpa arachnanthe'' (Ridl.) J.J.Sm. - Malaysia * '' Pomatocalpa armigerum'' (King & Pantl.) Tang & F.T.Wang - Assam, Bhutan * '' Pomatocalpa bambusarum'' (King & Pantl.) Garay - Assam, Bhutan * '' Pomatocalpa bhutanicum'' N.P.Balakr. - Bhutan * '' Pomatocalpa bicolor'' (Lindl.) J.J.Sm. - Philippines * '' Pomatocalpa decipiens'' (Lindl.) J.J.Sm. - India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka * '' Pomatocalpa diffusum'' Breda - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines * '' Pomatocalpa floresanum'' J.J.Sm. - Flores * '' Pomatocalpa fuscum'' (Lindl.) J.J.Sm. - Malaysia, Borneo, Philippines * '' Pomatocalpa grande'' Seidenf. - Vietnam * '' Pomatocalpa incurvum'' (J.J.Sm.) J.J.Sm. - New Guinea, Solomons * '' Pomatocalpa kunstleri'' (Hook.f.) J.J.Sm. - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines * '' Pomatocalpa leucanthum'' (Schltr.) Schltr. - New Guinea * '' Pomatocalpa linearipetalum'' J.J.Sm. - Seram * '' Pomatocalpa macphersonii'' (F.Muell.) T.E.Hunt - New Guinea, Queensland * '' Pomatocalpa maculosum'' (Lindl.) J.J.Sm. - widespread from Sri Lanka and Bhutan to Java and the Philippines ** ''Pomatocalpa maculosum'' subsp. ''andamanicum'' (Hook.f.) Watthana ** ''Pomatocalpa maculosum'' subsp. ''maculosum'' * ''

Pomatocalpa marsupiale ''Pomatocalpa'', commonly known as bladder orchids, or 鹿角兰属 (lu jiao lan shu), 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 ...

'' (Kraenzl.) J.J.Sm. - Queensland, Maluku, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Solomons, Vanuatu * '' Pomatocalpa parvum'' (Ridl.) J.J.Sm. - Pahang * '' Pomatocalpa simalurense'' J.J.Sm . - Simeuluë * '' Pomatocalpa sphaetophorum'' (Schltr.) J.J.Sm. - Borneo * '' Pomatocalpa spicatum'' Breda, Kuhl & Hasselt - Hainan, Assam, Bhutan, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines * '' Pomatocalpa tonkinense'' (Gagnep.) Seidenf. - Vietnam, Laos * '' Pomatocalpa truncatum'' (J.J.Sm.) J.J.Sm. - Borneo * ''

Pomatocalpa undulatum ''Pomatocalpa'', commonly known as bladder orchids, or 鹿角兰属 (lu jiao lan shu), is a genus of about twenty five species from the orchid Family (biology), family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are epiphytes or lithophytes with thick, le ...

'' (Lindl.) J.J.Sm - Assam, Bangladesh, Taiwan ** ''Pomatocalpa undulatum'' subsp. ''acuminatum'' (Rolfe) Watthana ** ''Pomatocalpa undulatum'' subsp. ''undulatum''

Distribution

Species in the genus ''Pomatocalpa'' are found from

and substropical

to the southwest

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1319675 Vandeae genera Aeridinae

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution

See also

References