Capanemia, an orchid comprising seven species and mostly found in the Brazilian Atlantic rain forest, is divided into two sections based on leaf shape. Buzatto et al. examine floral morphology and anatomy and conclude that this current sectional division is not supported as, with the sole exception of Capanemia therezae, all species share a distinctive set [...]
A.J. Cann: I posted here recently about my orchid addiction, and Vanda is one of my favourite genera, so it was fascinating to read the history of a beautiful cross, Vanda Miss Joaquim, originally made in 1893, brought bang up to date in AoB Plants: The popular hybrid orchid Vanda Miss Joaquim was made Singapore’s national [...]
In recent years (since I got the bug), my holidays have included orchid-hunting as a compulsory element! On a recent visit to Jersey, I came unstuck as by the end of a rather dry July, the wild orchid season on the island was pretty much over. Fortunately, the Eric Young Orchid Foundation was high on [...]
Phylogeographic patterns of <i>Epipactis</i> lineages Epipactis is a widespread orchid genus encompassing morphologically and genetically problematic aggregates of taxa, such as the E. helleborine species complex and related lineages. Tranchida-Lombardo et al. show that the Italian peninsula acted as a remarkable centre of diversification for this orchid lineage and that recurrent shifts in mating system [...]
Margaret Moran at My Growing Passion has put up a photo of Cryptostylis subulata the Large Tongue Orchid that she has growing in her garden. Her post includes an explanation of how it reproduces. It relies on wasps to pollinate the flower, so to pull in the wasp close enough it mimics a female wasp. [...]
Coexistence of multiple cytotypes of an orchid Large-scale cytotype surveys have indicated that intraspecific ploidy diversification is much more common than previously thought. Trávníček et al. examine inter- and intrapopulational ploidy diversity in the fragrant orchid, Gymnadenia conopsea agg., in Central Europe and find that this species represents a remarkable example of ploidy coexistence in [...]
Orchid reproductive isolation and pollination success Few studies have investigated whether non-rewarding plants affect the pollination success of rewarding plants when they grow in close proximity. Sun et al. investigate floral isolation and mutual effects in orchids between rewarding Galearis diantha and non-rewarding Ponerorchis chusua and find a combination of mechanical isolation and incomplete ethological [...]
Pollen viability in Mediterranean orchids Evaluation of pollen viability has generally been confined to a relatively low number of species. Bellusci et al. study five related Mediterranean orchid genera (Anacamptis, Orchis, Dactylorhiza, Ophrys and Serapias) that are characterized by different types of deceptive pollination and find that pollen viabilities of species groups with different deception [...]
Evolution of mycoheterotrophy from mixotrophic ancestors Nutritional changes associated with the evolution of achlorophyllous, mycoheterotrophic plants have not been inferred within a robust phylogenetic framework. Motomura et al. examine variations in heterotrophy in association with the evolution of leaflessness using a chlorophyllous/achlorophyllous species pair in Cymbidium (Orchidaceae) and demonstrate that mycoheterotrophy evolved after the establishment [...]
On the way up to Scotland, we stopped at Durham and spent a day at the University Botanic Garden: The garden is very well maintained, with informative and friendly staff. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area, or on your way up to Scotland for some orchid hunting: