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is one of my favourite genera, so it was fascinating to read the history of a beautiful cross, Vanda Miss Joaquim, originally made in 1893, brought bang up to date in AoB Plants: The popular hybrid orchid Vanda Miss Joaquim was made Singapore’s national [...]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. [...]