''Prosthechea'' 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 flowering plants 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 ...

). The name is derived from the Greek word ''prostheke'' (appendix), referring to the

appendage An appendage (or outgrowth) is an external body part or natural prolongation that protrudes from an organism's body such as an arm or a leg. Protrusions from single-celled bacteria and archaea are known as cell-surface appendages or surface app ...

on the back of the

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 ...

. Appendage orchid is a common name for this genus. ''Prosthechea'' is abbreviated ''Psh.'' in the horticultural trade.

Morphology

The

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

s of all ''Prosthechea'' species possess a velamen (a thick sponge-like covering) differentiated into epivelamen and endovelamen.

Flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

crystals were observed in both the roots and leaves. The erect

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

s form flattened or thickened

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. There are 1 to 3 terminal, sessile

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, ...

. The leathery blade is ovate to lanceolate. (''Euchile'' leaves are softer and thinner than other ''Prosthechea'' leaves.) The flowers form an apical, paniculate

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 ...

with a

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

at the base of the inflorescence. There is a great variety in the flowers of this genus. They may be attached to the stem by a peduncle or they may be sessile. They can flower on the raceme at the same time or successively. They can be resupinate or non-resupinate (as in ''Prosthechea cochleata''). ''Prosthechea'' flowers are unique among the

Laeliinae Laeliinae is a Neotropical subtribe including 40 orchid genera, such as '' Brassavola'', ''Laelia'' and ''Cattleya''. The genus ''Epidendrum'' is the largest within this subtribe, containing about 1500 species. This is followed by the genus ''En ...

in producing

fluorescent Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with color ...

flavenoid crystals when preserved in

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

with 5%

sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly corrosive base (chemistry), ...

. The

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 are almost equal in length, while the

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 can be much slender. The

lip The lips are a horizontal pair of soft appendages attached to the jaws and are the most visible part of the mouth of many animals, including humans. Mammal lips are soft, movable and serve to facilitate the ingestion of food (e.g. sucklin ...

is pressed closely (adnate to proximal) to half of the

and shows a

callus A callus (: calluses) is an area of thickened and sometimes hardened skin that forms as a response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Since repeated contact is required, calluses are most often found on the feet and hands, b ...

(a stiff protuberance). The column is 3- to 5-toothed at its top. There are four, almost equal

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 ...

with an inverted egg shape. There are four stalks (or

caudicle 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 ...

s) in two pairs. The

beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and ...

is entire, curved into a half circle and covered with viscous

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

crystals. The fruits consist of ellipse-shaped to egg-shaped, 1-locular, 3-winged capsules.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Prosthechea'' has only recently (1997; published in 1998) been reestablished by W. E. Higgins as a distinct genus (see references). Two species were later transferred to ''

Euchile ''Prosthechea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). The name is derived from the Greek word ''prostheke'' (appendix), referring to the appendage on the back of the column (botany), column. Appendage orchid is a commo ...

'' ('' E. citrina'' and '' E. mariae'') by Withner in 1998. The status of ''Euchile'' species as sister to ''Prosthechea'' excluding ''Euchile'' was confirmed by Higgins in his doctoral dissertation in 2000. Previously, the species had been included in different genera : '' Anacheilium'', ''

Encyclia :''Encyclia'' is also a Greek term for the Codex Encyclius ''Encyclia'' is a genus of orchids. The genus name comes from Greek ''enkykleomai'' ("to encircle"), referring to the lateral lobes of the lip which encircle the column. It is abbreviate ...

'', ''

Epidendrum ''Epidendrum'' , abbreviated Epi in the horticultural trade, is a large neotropical genus of the orchid family. With more than 1,500 species, some authors describe it as a mega-genus. The genus name (from Greek language, Greek ''επί, epi'' an ...

'', ''

'', '' Hormidium'' and '' Pollardia''. The status as genus was confirmed by recent data, based on molecular evidence (nuclear (nrITS) and plastid ( matK and trnL-F) DNA sequence data) (W. E. Higgins et al. 2003).

Distribution

This is a neotropical

epiphytic 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 ...

genus, widespread across much of

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

from

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 ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, as well as in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Flora of North America v 26 p 613, ''Prosthechea'' Knowles & Westcott, Fl. Cab. 2: 111. 1838.
/ref>

Species

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

accepts the following species:

Natural Hybrids

*'' Prosthechea × chixoyensis'' E.Mó & Cetzal *'' Prosthechea × intermedia'' (Campacci) J.M.H.Shaw

Morphology

Taxonomy

Distribution

Species

Natural Hybrids

References

Footnotes

External links