Imerinaea
(pronounced: eye-mer-in-EE-ah)
Classification
Epidendreae subtribe Polystachyinae.
Overview
Creeping terrestrials. Pseudobulbs small, concealed by inflated bracts. Leaves one, long-petiolate. Inflorescences long-scapose, congested racemes. Flowers 2--4, not resupinate. Sepals and petals subsimilar, free. Lip unlobed, bearing a central longitudinal callus pilose at the base. Column slender, semiterete, minutely papillose-puberulose at the base; pollinia 4.
Distribution
A monotypic genus endemic to Madagascar. Named for Imerina, the type locality.
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Imerinaea is apparently not in cultivation, but it should respond to standard terrestrial media in containers. In nature Imerinaea grows at the bases of trees and among shaded, mossy rocks. In cultivation the plants should be grown in an intermediate to cool greenhouse under bright, diffuse (but not full) sunlight. Presumably watering should be seasonal, in response to the growth cycle.
Literature
Bosser, J. 1966. Contribution a l'étude des Orchidaceae de Madagascar, VI. Adansonia, ser. 2, 6:399-404.
FREE ACCESS: Orchid DealWire
Get notified when orchid vendors have special promotions and exclusive savings.
