''Ludisia'' (''Lus.'') is a genus of orchids that was thought to contain just one species, ''Ludisia discolor'', commonly referred to as
jewel orchid. A second species, ''Ludisia ravanii'', from the
Philippines, was described in 2013. ''Ludisia discolor'' is native to Southern
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Northeast
India,
Thailand,
Vietnam, the
Philippines,
Malaysia,
Indonesia and
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
, and often cultivated.
Description
They are terrestrial orchids that in their natural setting would be found growing on the forest floor. They are known for their foliage, which is often velvety deep maroon with red veins that run parallel to the centre of the leaf.
Flowers are white with twisting yellow
columns. Individual flowers are small but grow in clusters on upright stalks. Flowers in cultivation last a month or more.
Cultivation
They need high humidity and warm temperatures with low to medium light, and they tolerate extremely low light levels.
Cultivars
''Ludisia discolor'' has two notable cultivars:
* ''L. discolor'' 'Alba', an albino variant, and
* ''L. discolor'' 'Nigrescens', a mutation often referred to as "black velvet".
Hybrids
Hybrids of ''Ludisia'' with other orchid genera are placed in the following nothogenera:
* ''
Dossisia'' (''Dsi.'') = ''Ludisia'' × ''
Dossinia''
* ''
Goodisia'' (''Gda.'') = ''Ludisia'' × ''
Goodyera''
* ''
Ludochilus'' (''Lud.'') = ''Ludisia'' × ''
Anoectochilus''
* ''
Macodisia''
(''Mcd.'') = ''Ludisia'' × ''
Macodes
''Macodes'' is one of a few genera of the orchid family known as jewel orchids. These terrestrial orchids grows in the rainforest floor of Southeast Asia with high humidity and low light. They can also be found in New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomo ...
''
Note that these hybrids are with other genera in the subtribe
Goodyerinae, all commonly referred to as ''jewel orchids''.
(The given references are to registered primary hybrids within each given nothogenus.)
References
External links
*
*
Goodyerinae
Monotypic Orchidoideae genera
Cranichideae genera
Orchids of Myanmar
Orchids of Indonesia
Orchids of Malaysia
Orchids of China
Orchids of Thailand
Orchids of the Philippines
{{Orchidoideae-stub