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Calanthe

{{Short description|Genus of orchids}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Christmas orchids

| image = Calanthe sylvatica Calanthe masuka OrchidsBln0906b.JPG

| image_caption = Calanthe sylvatica in the Botanical Gardens Berlin - Orchid Exhibition

| display_parents = 2

| taxon = Calanthe

| authority = R.Br.{{cite web |title=Calanthe |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:325898-2#synonyms |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=13 February 2023}}

| diversity = About 300 species

| diversity_link = Calanthe#List of species

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms = {{collapsible list|

}}

}}

Calanthe, commonly known as Christmas orchids,{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories|date=2006|publisher=New Holland|location=Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.|isbn=1877069124|page =353}} is a genus of about 220 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen or deciduous terrestrial plants with thick roots, small oval pseudobulbs, large corrugated leaves and upright, sometimes arching flowering stems. The sepals and petals are narrow and a similar size to each other and the labellum usually has spreading lobes.

Description

Orchids in the genus Calanthe are terrestrial with small, crowded pseudobulbs with thick roots and a few corrugated or wrinkled leaves with the base tapering to a petiole-like stalk. Some species are evergreen while others are deciduous. The flowers are delicate but showy, white, pink, yellow or orange and crowded near the end of an erect, sometimes arching flowering stem. The sepals and petals are relatively narrow, similar in size and spread widely. The labellum has three or four spreading lobes and in most species there is a spur at the base. Unlike similar orchids, the labellum of Calanthe orchids is fused to the column.{{cite book |last1=La Croix |first1=Isobyl F. |title=The new encyclopedia of orchids : 1500 species in cultivation |date=2008 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=9780881928761 |page=78}}{{cite book |last=Sasaki |first=Sanmi |translator=Shaun McCabe |translator2=Iwasaki Satoko |title=Chado the Way of Tea: A Japanese Tea Master's Almanac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cEzCY5cB3icC&pg=PA195 |year=2005 |publisher=Tuttle |isbn=978-0-8048-3716-3 |pages=195–196}}{{cite book |last1=Soon |first1=Teoh Eng |title=Orchids of Asia |date=2005 |publisher=Times Editions- Marshall Cavendish |isbn=9812610154 |page=146 |edition=3rdition}}{{cite web |author1=D.L.Jones |author2=T.Hopley |author3=S.M.Duffy |author1-link=David L. Jones (botanist) |year=2010 |access-date=27 May 2021 |url=http://www.canbr.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/RFKOrchids/key/rfkorchids/Media/Html/genera/Calanthe.htm |title=Calanthe |website=Australian Tropical Rainforest Orchids |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government}}{{cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Xinqi |last2=Cribb |first2=Phillip J. |last3=Gale |first3=Stephan W. |title=Calanthe |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=105024 |publisher=Flora of China |access-date=8 September 2018}}

Taxonomy and naming

The genus Calanthe was first formally described in 1821 by Robert Brown and his manuscript was published in The Botanical Register.{{WCSP | 30038 | Calanthe }}{{cite book |last1=Ridgway |first1=James |title=The Botanical Register (Volume 7) |date=1821 |publisher=Ridgways |location=London |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/9043#page/186/mode/1up |access-date=8 September 2018}} The name Calanthe is derived from the Ancient Greek words kallos meaning "beauty"{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.}}{{rp|131}} and anthos meaning "flower".{{rp|94}}

Distribution and habitat

Calanthe species are found in all tropical areas, but mostly concentrated in Southeast Asia. Some species also range into subtropical lands such as China, India, Madagascar, Australia, Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

List of species

The following is a list of species of Calanthe recognised by the Plants of the World Online as at August 2018:{{cite web |title=Calanthe |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/results?f=accepted_names&page.size=480&q=Calanthe |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=13 February 2023}}

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Gallery

Calanthe triplicata - Flickr 003 - cropped.jpg|Calanthe triplicata, the Calanthe type species, from Florida International University

R. Warner & B.S. Williams - The Orchid Album - volume 08 - plate 354 (1889).jpg|Botanical illustration of Calanthe masuca, from The Orchid Album vol. 8

Calanthe discolor.JPG|Calanthe discolor from Shiga prefecture, Japan

Calanthe brevicornu - Sertum - Lindley pl. 9 (1838).jpg|Botanical illustration of Calanthe brevicornu from John Lindley's Sertum Orchidaceum

Calanthe argenteostriata 02.jpg|Flowers of Calanthe argenteostriata

Calanthe izu-insularis 'Mikura Otome' (Mikura Is.) (Satomi) Ohwi & Satomi, J.Ohwi, Fl. Jap., ed. rev.- 1437 (1965) (34031847852).jpg|Flowers of Calanthe izu-insularis

References

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Category:Collabieae genera

Category:Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)