''Laelia'' is a small genus of 25 species in the orchid family (

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 ...

). ''Laelia'' species are found in areas of subtropical or temperate climate in Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, but mostly in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. ''Laelia'' is abbreviated ''L.'' in the horticultural trade.

Description

Mostly

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 ...

herbs (with a few

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 laterally compressed

pseudobulb In botany, a pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed ''heter ...

s. One to four leathery or fleshy

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are born near the top of each pseudobulb, and can be broadly ovate to oblong. The inflorescence is a terminal raceme (rarely a panicle). The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s have 8

pollinia A pollinium (: pollinia) is a coherent mass of pollen grains in a plant that are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit. This is regularly seen in plants such as orchids and many species of milkwee ...

; petals are of a thinner texture than the sepals; sepals and petals are of similar shape, but the sepals being narrower; the lip or labellum is free from the arched flower

column 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 member ...

Distribution

Species of ''Laelia'' can be found from western Mexico south to

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, from sea level to mountain forests.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Laelia'' was described as part of subfamily

Epidendroideae Epidendroideae is a subfamily of plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Epidendroideae is larger than all the other orchid subfamilies together, comprising more than 15,000 species in 576 genera. Most epidendroid orchids are tropical epiphytes ...

John Lindley John Lindley Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidology, orchidologist. Early years Born in Old Catton, Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four c ...

. Brazilian ''Laelias'', after being classified for several years under ''

Sophronitis ''Cattleya'' () is a genus of orchids from Costa Rica south to Argentina. The genus is abbreviated C in trade journals. Description Epiphytic or terrestrial orchids with cylindrical rhizome from which the fleshy noodle-like roots grow. Pseu ...

'', have now been placed in the genus ''

Cattleya ''Cattleya'' () is a genus of orchids from Costa Rica south to Argentina. The genus is abbreviated C in trade journals. Description Epiphyte, Epiphytic or terrestrial orchids with cylindrical rhizome from which the fleshy noodle-like roots ...

''. Moreover, species formerly placed in the genus ''

Schomburgkia ''Schomburgkia'' was a genus of plants belonging to the family Orchidaceae. This genus was named for Richard Schomburgk, a German botanist who explored British Guiana during the 19th century. Former species of this genus were either epiphytic or l ...

'' have been moved either to the genus ''Laelia'' or ''

Myrmecophila ''Myrmecophila'' is a genus of plants belonging to the family Orchidaceae. It is native to southern Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and Venezuela. Species in this genus are either Epiphyte, epiphytic or Lithophyte, lithophytic in their ...

''.

Species

''Laelia'' comprises the following species:

Ecology

Species in this genus are found in forests from sea level to mountain habitats above 2000 m. Species from above 2000 m of elevation like ''L. albida'', and ''L. autumnalis'' are adapted to temperate climates and can be grown outdoors in places like the

Mexican Plateau The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano (), is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. Averaging above sea level, it extends from the United States border in the north to the T ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and other subtropical areas with cool summers. ''Laelia'' is one of the orchid genera known to use

crassulacean acid metabolism Crassulacean acid metabolism, also known as CAM photosynthesis, is a carbon fixation pathway that evolved in some plants as an adaptation to arid conditions that allows a plant to photosynthesize during the day, but only exchange gases at night. ...

photosynthesis, which reduces

evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) refers to the combined processes which move water from the Earth's surface (open water and ice surfaces, bare soil and vegetation) into the Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of w ...

during daylight because

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

is collected at night.

Cultivation

Laelias can be grown fastened to tree trunks, as long as the tree won't cast a deep shadow; they can also be fastened to a piece of branch or a slab of cork so they can be hung in a place facing south. The growing medium must have good drainage, rapidly drying after watering; pieces of pine bark, charcoal or pebbles are good choices. If grown mounted they definitely need approximately 50–70% humidity, while cooler temperatures increase the blooming process. Watering can be done 2–3 times a week, but with lower frequency in winter. Fertilization can be done with a very dilute solution, twice a month especially during growing season (May to November in Northern Hemisphere).

Nothogenera

Hybrids of ''Laelia'' with other orchid genera are placed in the following nothogenera (this list is incomplete): * × ''Laeliocattleya'' (''Lc.'') = ''

'' × ''Laelia'' * × ''Laeliocatonia'' (''Lctna.'') = '' Broughtonia'' × ''

'' × ''Laelia'' * × ''Laeliocatarthron'' (''Lcr.'') = ''

'' × ''

Caularthron ''Caularthron'' Raf. (1837), abbreviated Cau. in the horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids with 4 species.Information retrieved from http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do on October 3, 2010, after entering "Caularthron". They are epiphytic or ...

'' × ''Laelia'' * × ''Sophrolaelia'' (''Sl.'') = ''Laelia'' × ''

'' ''

Rhyncholaelia ''Rhyncholaelia'', abbreviated ''Rl.'' in the horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae), comprising two species. They are distributed in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Hon ...

'' is a distinct genus rather than a nothogenus.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Epiphytic orchids Laeliinae genera