Calanthe
(pronounced: kal-AN-thee)
Classification
Arethuseae subtribe Bletiinae
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Etymology
From the Greek kalos, meaning beautiful, and anthe, meaning bloom, referring to the pretty flowers of the genus.
Distribution
A pantropical genus of 150 species with its greatest diversity in Africa and Asia. Only two species occur in the Neotropics.
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Among the cultivated species there are two distinct growth forms each with distinct cultural needs. The deciduous species with conspicuous pseudobulbs have strong growth and rest cycles. Grow these in pots of medium grade epiphyte mixture with a moisture-retentive addition. During active growth the plants require intermediate temperatures, high light levels, regular watering, and heavy fertilization. After the pseudobulbs mature water is reduced somewhat until the leaves drop and the inflorescences appear. After flowering water should be withheld entirely until the appearance of new growth. Many growers move the plants out of the growing area to ensure the pots are not watered during their dormancy. The best treatment is to divide and repot the plants yearly, placing one to several pseudobulbs in each pot. Evergreen species should be grown in pots of terrestrial mixture and in general prefer cool-intermediate temperatures or at least conditions that avoid extremely hot conditions for any long period of time. These species should be repotted and divided as required but not on a yearly basis. Some of the evergreen species are cold hardy as garden features in milder temperate climates. ..................................................... 8 .......................................... C. otuhanica
Literature
Barghava, N. 1978. On the natural blooming of Calanthe triplicata (Will.) Ames in Little Andaman Island (India). Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 47(11):1011-1015. Braem, G. J. 1991. The genus Calanthe. Schlechteriana 3/91:118-122. Chan, C. L. and T. J. Barkman 1997. A new species of Calanthe (Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae: Arethuseae) from Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. Sandakania 9:27-34. Comber, J. B. 1981. The genus Calanthe in Java. Orchid Digest 45:124-130. Comber, J. B. 1989. More Calanthe species of Malaysia to New Guinea. Orchid Digest 53:68-70. Cribb, P.J. and S. Thomas 1993. The genus Calanthe in Tropical America. Orquidea (Mex.) 13(1-2):227-232. Ghose, B. N. 1960. Orchids of India: Calanthe herbacea. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 29(4):277-278. Gruss, O. 2000. Calanthe madagascariensis. Die Orchidee 51(2):[097]-[098]. Karasawa, K. and G. Ishida 1980. Histological observations on the pollination of Calanthe lyroglossa Reichb.f. Bull. Hiroshima Bot. Garden 3:75-78. Karasawa, K., G. Ishida and M. Isobe 1986. Cytogenetic studies in the interspecific hybrid Calanthe reflexa x C. masuca. Bull. Hiroshima Bot. Gard. 8:43-54. O’Byrne, P. 1997. Calanthe lyroglossa var. longibracteata, a new orchid from Java. Malayan Orch. Rev. 31:29-31. Panigrahi, G. 1966. Systematic studies in the family Orchidaceae in eastern India, I. Aerides Lour. and Calanthe R. Br. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., India, sect. B, 36(2):124-134. Perner, H. 1999. Calanthe tricarinata Lindl. 1833. Die Orchidee 50(5): Orchideenkartei Seite 905-906. Robbins, S. 1991. An unusual Calanthe from Yunnan. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 60(3):234-235. Seidenfaden, G. 1975. Orchid genera in Thailand. I. Calanthe R. Br. Dansk Bot. Ark. 29:1-50. Sheehan, T. and M. Sheehan 1975. Orchid Genera Illustrated, XLVII: Calanthe. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 44(12):1084-1085. Singh, F. 1979. Calanthe masuca. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 48(6):586-588. Tahara, M. 1997. Calanthen in Japan. Die Orchidee 48(6):248-254. Tanaka, R., K. Karasawa and G. Ishida 1981. Karyomorphological observations on Calanthe of Japan. Bull. Hiroshima Bot. Gard. 4:9-62. Tang, C. Z. and S. J. Cheng 1986. A new orchid from South China, Calanthe argenteo-striata. Orchid Digest 49:227-229. Teuscher, H. 1978. Collector’s Item: Calanthe and Spathoglottis. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 47(4):336-343.
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