Paphinia cristata

Paphinia cristata (Lindl.) Lindl., species of orchis belonging to the subgroup of Stanhopeinae. She is the first species of the kind to arrive to Europe at the XIXe century. First plants collected with the accesses of a volcanic mud lake (Devil' S Woodyard?) with Trinidad flowered in the collection of Mr. J. Knight, of King' S Road Nursery in England in July 1835. The specimen was described by the English botanist John Lindley under the name of Maxillaria cristata Lindl. (Club-footed. Reg. 21: T. 1811 (1836)) then integrated in the kind Paphinia of which it is the standard species (Club-footed. Reg. 29: misc. 14 (1843)).

Etymology

cristatus, has, um , adjectival Latin " Who has a peak or a huppe" in reference to the lashes characteristic of the labelle one.

Synonyms

Maxillaria cristata Lindl. Club-footed. Reg. 21: T. 1811 (1836).
Lycaste cristata (Lindl.) Benth., Benth. & Hook. Gen. Pl., 3,548 (1883).

Diagnosis

Lindley 1836 : Pseudobulbis ovatis sulcatis monophyllis, foliis, oblongo-lanceolatis plicatis, scapo pendulo bifloro, squamis laxiusculis vaginato, petalisque floribus explanatis, sepalis lanceolatis acutis aequalibus, labello multo undervalues tripartito carnoso: laciniis utrinque lateralibus flacatis intermedia rotundata cristato-fimbriata unidentata, ungue subcristato disco music bidentato. Sepala 1 ¾ unciam longa, alba, sanguineo interrupte striata and fasciata. Petala aequalia and conformia, apice sanguinea basi maculata dorso alba. Dentibusque Labellum purpureum, ungue viridi crista albis; crista laciniae intermediae fimbriata pilis submoniliformibus : unguis E cirrhulis 4-6 rectis submoniliformibus constans; cog disci compressi divaricati margine crenati posteriore duplo raises. Columba basi viridis, apice lutea, and utrinque sublata, rostello longissimo subulato. Caudicula polliniorum longissima, glandula parva subtriangulari.

Lindley 1843 : Flora pulcherrimi extus Albi, intus purpureo interrupte fasciati; petalia apice omnini purpureis.

Distribution and biotope

Orchis of the Amazonian basin, it has a broad distribution. It is frequent of Trinidad until the north of the Bolivia and is particularly well represented on the plate of Guyanes. Plant wet tropical forest it believes in the wet and shaded underwoods, pushing on shrubs and lianas covered foams and lichens. One can meet it up to 800 m of altitude.

Culture

Plant considered difficult in culture. However at the end of the XIXe century Reichenbach claimed that it was about a particularly resistant plant: " I cuts observed it is scarcely to Be killed. When I cuts seen the remainder off ruined collections, usually Paphinia cristata and Batemania meleagris were amidst the few last Mohicans" ( Gardener' S Chronicle , 2 ser. xii 520 (1879)). It is undoubtedly necessary to see there the beneficial influence on this species of the temperatures and the hygroscopy particularly high which reigned in the greenhouses of the amateurs of the time. Plant equatorial climates, it indeed requires a regularity of the temperature and a good ambient moisture. The culture on sphaigne, with a contribution of water noncalcareous and a very light fertilization gives good performances.

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