''Pseudolaelia'' is a small genus belonging to the orchid family (

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

), the entire genus endemic to Brazil.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The abbreviation used in the horticultural trade is Pdla.

Description

The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s of these orchids resemble those of ''

Laelia ''Laelia'' is a small genus of 25 species in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). ''Laelia'' species are found in areas of subtropical or temperate climate in Central and South America, but mostly in Mexico. ''Laelia'' is abbreviated ''L.'' in the ...

'', but the main difference between these two genera lies in the vegetative part. These orchids occur exclusively in Eastern Brazil, often as

epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

s. Some are

lithophyte Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are also ...

s, forming a thicket on the rocks. Others, as ''Pseudolaelia vellozicola'', are semi-epiphytes and can be found on mat-like communities of ''

Vellozia ''Vellozia'' is a plant genus in the family Velloziaceae, established in 1788. The genus is endemic to South America except for one species ''(V. tubiflora),'' whose range extends into Panama. Most of the species are native to Brazil, with a den ...

'' bushes on

inselberg An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

s (dome-shaped granitic or gneissic rock outcrops) in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, requiring an adaptation to the extreme environmental conditions (dryness, isolation) The

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s are extended. The

pseudobulb The pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed heteroblastic and ...

s are fusiform, cylindrical to conical, carrying three to eight

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

. These are apical, deciduous, upright, leathery and pointy. The base of the leaves clasps the pseudobulb from the upper third till the apex. The inflorescence is a long

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

, growing from the apex of the pseudobulb, with an undefined number of small white to pink flowers, opening in a consecutive manner clustered at the apex.

Pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...

is performed by

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

, dipterids and hymenopterids. The flowers of ''Pseudolaelia corcovadensis'', being self-compatible, are also pollinated by deceit by the bee ''Bombus (Fervidobombus) atratus'' by mimicking a generalized bee-attracting food-flower. However, these visits are rather rare

Species of ''Pseudolaelia''

Species accepted as of June 2014:

Natural hybrids

#'' Pseudolaelia × perimii'' M.Frey - Espírito Santo ''(P. brejetubensis × P. freyi)''

References

Books

* (in French)

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3308313 Laeliinae genera Epiphytic orchids Endemic orchids of Brazil Laeliinae