''Ludisia'' (''Lus.'') is a genus of orchids that was thought to contain just one species, ''Ludisia discolor'', commonly referred to as

jewel orchid Jewel orchid is a common name which may refer to any orchid grown for its leaves rather than its flowers, including: *''Anoectochilus'' **''Anoectochilus sandvicensis'', Hawaii jewel orchid *'' Dossinia'' *''Goodyera'' *''Ludisia'' **'' Ludisia disc ...

. A second species, ''Ludisia ravanii'', from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, was described in 2013. ''Ludisia discolor'' is native to Southern China, Northeast

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, the

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, and often cultivated.

Description

They are terrestrial orchids that in their natural setting would be found growing on the forest floor. They are known for their foliage, which is often velvety deep maroon with red veins that run parallel to the centre of the leaf. Flowers are white with twisting yellow

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...

. Individual flowers are small but grow in clusters on upright stalks. Flowers in cultivation last a month or more.

Cultivation

They need high humidity and warm temperatures with low to medium light, and they tolerate extremely low light levels.

Cultivars

''Ludisia discolor'' has two notable cultivars: * ''L. discolor'' 'Alba', an albino variant, and * ''L. discolor'' 'Nigrescens', a mutation often referred to as "black velvet".

Hybrids

Hybrids of ''Ludisia'' with other orchid genera are placed in the following nothogenera: * '' Dossisia'' (''Dsi.'') = ''Ludisia'' × ''

Dossinia ''Dossinia'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. At the present time (June 2014), only one species is accepted, ''Dossinia marmorata'', endemic to Borneo. See also *List of Orchidaceae genera This is a list of g ...

'' * '' Goodisia'' (''Gda.'') = ''Ludisia'' × ''

Goodyera ''Goodyera'', commonly called rattlesnake plantain, jade orchids or ladies' tresses is a wide-ranging genus of orchids in the tribe Cranichideae. About 100 species of ''Goodyera'' have been formally described. With a center of diversity in East ...

'' * '' Ludochilus'' (''Lud.'') = ''Ludisia'' × ''

Anoectochilus ''Anoectochilus'', commonly known as marbled jewel orchids or filigree orchids, is a genus of about fifty species in the orchid family Orchidaceae. They are terrestrial herbs with a creeping rhizome, an upright flowering stem and dark coloured ...

'' * '' Macodisia'' (''Mcd.'') = ''Ludisia'' × '' Macodes'' Note that these hybrids are with other genera in the subtribe

Goodyerinae Goodyerinae is an orchid subtribe in the tribe Cranichideae. Certain orchids in this subtribe are referred to as jewel orchids, for instance ''Ludisia'', '' Goodyera'', '' Dossinia'', and '' Anoectochilus''. Genera Genera accepted in Chase et ...

, all commonly referred to as ''jewel orchids''. (The given references are to registered primary hybrids within each given nothogenus.)

References

External links

* * Goodyerinae Monotypic Orchidoideae genera Cranichideae genera Orchids of Myanmar Orchids of Indonesia Orchids of Malaysia Orchids of China Orchids of Thailand Orchids of the Philippines {{Orchidoideae-stub