''Scaphyglottis'' (abbreviated ''Scgl.'') is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

orchid 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 ...

s native to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and parts of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The current concept of this genus is the result of combining several genera which have been described at various times. The concept is characterized by the growth habit: not only are new

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 added at the base of the old ones (as is typical of

sympodial Sympodial growth is a bifurcating branching pattern where one branch develops more strongly than the other, resulting in the stronger branches forming the primary shoot and the weaker branches appearing laterally. A sympodium, also referred to a ...

orchids), but new pseudobulbs also grow at the apices of the old ones. Many species are quite similar and difficult to distinguish, but some are clearly distinct. A few have showy colors. The genus comprises nearly 70 species.

Distribution

''Scaphyglottis'' species grow over a large area, stretching from southern

and the

Islands to southern

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and much of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, ranging from hot, humid

tropical rain forests Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

near sea level through dry forests of the uplands to the

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

s high in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The center of diversity is in southern

. They usually grow high in trees, or in other highly illuminated locations.

Description

The plants are

epiphytic 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 ...

, or sometimes

lithophytic 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 als ...

. They show considerable variation in size, ranging from a few cm to nearly 1 m tall. They all have narrow, elongated pseudobulbs covered at the base by numerous evanescent sheaths. Each pseudobulb bears up to three long, narrow apical leaves. The pseudobulbs are ''superposed'' i. e. tend to grow in stacked chains, one arising from the apex of another. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

grows from the apex of the pseudobulb, and differs from most sympodial orchids in that one pseudobulb will sometimes produce inflorescences for several years. This, combined with the habit of new pseudobulbs growing from the apices of old ones, creates the impression that there are inflorescences growing from the middle of the stem. The inflorescence can be solitary, successive,

racemose 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 ...

paniculate A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

. The flowers are small, and nearly always white, cream, or a pale shade of green or lavender, with the exception of two species of ''

Hexisea ''Hexisea'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae). The genera ''Costaricaea'' Schltr. and ''Euothonaea'' Rchb.f. are synonyms of ''Hexisea''. This genus is abbreviated Hxsa in trade journals. Synonymy At the urging of Dressler, ''Hexisea'' ...

'', which are mostly brilliant red. The petals and sepals have nearly the same length, but the petals are usually wider, and the lip is usually the largest perianth segment. The anther is terminal, and contains four to six

pollinia A pollinium (plural pollinia) is a coherent mass of pollen grains in a plant that are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit. This is regularly seen in plants such as orchids and many species of mil ...

. Most ''Scaphyglottis'' are pollinated by insects; nearly all species produce nectar which accumulates in the

nectary Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

formed by the base of the lip and the bottom of the column. The two species of ''Hexisea'' are possibly also pollinated by hummingbirds, which are especially known to visit red flowers.

Taxonomic history

The genus was published by

Eduard Friedrich Poeppig Eduard Friedrich Poeppig (16 July 1798 – 4 September 1868) was a German botanist, zoologist and explorer. Biography Poeppig was born in Plauen, Saxony. He studied medicine and natural history at the University of Leipzig, graduating with a med ...

and

Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804, Bratislava (Pozsony) – 28 March 1849, Vienna) was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. B ...

in 1835. In 1960, Robert Louis Dressler designated ''Fernandezia graminifolia'' Ruiz & Pavon, now known as ''Scaphyglottis graminifolia'', to be the type species. The generic epithet comes from the Greek skaphe, concave or hollow, and glotta, tongue, in reference to the shape of the floral labellum. This definition of ''Scaphyglottis'' was unclear for a long time. There is a large group of species clearly belonging to the genus, such as the now defunct three small genera ''Tetragamestus'', ''Leaoa'', and ''Hexadesmia'', which were brought into synonymy decades ago. In 1993, a review of ''Scaphpyglottis'' was published which did not include a complete synonymy, but which was nevertheless useful in clarifying many of the species in the genus. Many of the species belonging to ''Scaphyglottis'' before the unification are also confusing and variable, forming various complexes of reproductively isolated groups that seem morphologically identical.

Synonymy—A confusing and controversial subject

In 2004, several other genera were brought into synonymy with ''Scaphyglottis'' as the concept is used today: ''Hexadesmia'' This genus containing 27 species was described by

Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart Adolphe-Théodore Brongniart () Royal Society, FRS FRSE FGS (14 January 1801 – 18 February 1876) was a French botany, botanist. He was the son of the geologist Alexandre Brongniart and grandson of the architect, Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart. ...

in 1843. It consisted of several different species separated from ''Scaphyglottis'' because the flowers had six pollinia instead of four. Because all of these species are in the basal clade of ''Scaphyglottis'', six pollinia seems likely to be the ancestral condition of ''Scaphyglottis''. Several other authors, including Schlechter and Reichenbach, placed additional species in ''Hexadesmia''. ''Leaoa'': In 1922,

Rudolf Schlechter Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter (16 October 1872 – 16 November 1925) was a German taxonomist, botanist, and author of several works on orchids. He went on botanical expeditions in Africa, Indonesia, New Guinea, South and Central America and ...

and Paulo de Campos Porto erected this small genus for a species that had previously been called ''Hexadesmia monophylla'', which had a very long inflorescence, rather than the short inflorescence typical of ''Hexadesmia'', as well as the typical six pollinia. More species were added to the genus by

Leslie Andrew Garay Leslie Andrew Garay (August 6, 1924 - August 19, 2016), born Garay László András, was an American botanist. He was the curator of the Oakes Ames Orchid Herbarium at Harvard University, where he succeeded Charles Schweinfurth in 1958. In 1957 h ...

in 1955 and by Freidrich Gustav Brieger in 1976, bringing the total to four. ''Tetragamestus'': Heinrich gustav Reichenbach described ''Tetragamestus modestus'' in 1854. Three additional species have been assigned to this genus, the last by Schlechter in 1818. The most widely known species is ''T. modestus'', a name which can be confused with ''reichenbachanthus modestus'', a synonym of ''S. brasiliensis''. The name ''Tetragamestus'' is widely used by orchid enthusiasts, many of whom reject the inclusion of this genus in ''Scaphyglottis''. ''Reichenbachanthus'': João Barbosa Rodrigues published ''Reichenbachanthus modestus'' in 1882. Four species of pendant epiphytes which occur from Central America to southeastern Brazil in tropical rain forests have been included in this genus, the last in 1997 by Dressler. The terete (= narrowly cylindrical) pseudobulb is difficult to distinguish from the single terete leaf. The base of the full or slightly trilobate lip forms a nectary together with the column, the column foot, and the base of the lateral

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

. The

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

is long and thick with an apical

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

containing four

. The pale yellow or green flowers feature lanceolate petals, smaller than the sepals. * ''Reichenbachanthus modestus'', originally published as ''Fractiunguis brasiliensis'' and also published in 1877 as ''Hexisea reflexa'' (Reichenbach) is now '' Scaphyglottis reflexa''. * ''Reichenbachanthus reflexus'', also published as ''Fractiunguis reflexus'' and ''Hexisea reflexa'' is now '' Scaphyglottis emarginata''. *''Reichenbachanthus cuniculatus'', originally published as ''Fractiunguis cuniculatus'' in 1923, also published as ''Hexisea cuniculata'' in 1925, is now '' Scaphyglottis cuniculata'' (Schltr.) Dressler (2002). *''Reichenbachanthus subulatus'' (Schltr.) Dressler (1997) was originally published as '' Scaphyglottis subulata'' Schltr. (1910). It has also been published as ''Reichenbachanthus lankesteri'' (Ames) DE Mora-Retana & JB García-Castro (1992) and ''Hexisea lankesteri'' Ames (1925). ''Fractiunguis'' was published by Schlechter in 1922, and has been considered a synonym of ''Reichenbachanthus'' almost from that time. It consisted of three species: *''Fractiunguis reflexus'' Schlechter (1922) *''Fractiunguis cuniculatus'' Schlechter (1923) *''Fractiunguis cuniculatus'' var gracilis Schlechter (1923) ''Hexisea'': In 1834,

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

published ''Hexisea bidentata''. The generic epithet refers to the six perianth segments being nearly equal in size and shape. Fourteen species have been placed in this genus before it was reduced to synonymy under ''Scaphyglottis'', despite having priority to ''Scaphyglottis''. The plants are

or rupicolous (rock dwelling) and caespitose, sometimes hanging down from branches of trees. They grow naturally in tropical and equatorial, humid, low-altitude forests from southern

to northern and northwestern

. The original two species (''H. bidentata'' and ''H. imbricata'', originally published as ''H. bidentata'' var. ''imbricata'') are distinguished from ''Scaphyglottis'' by small, almost entirely red flowers, with nearly equal perianth segments. It is the only group pollinated by hummingbirds. The vegetative morphology is similar to ''Scaphyglottis''. The

s are typically cylindrical or fusiform, bear deciduous linear-

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

leaves, and grow one from at the apex of another to form articulated chains. The racemose inflorescence is apical or from the nodes of the joints between pseudobulbs, with few flowers open simultaneously (generally only two or three) being produced over several years. The red or orange flowers have lanceolate sepals and petals. The labellum is simple and folded down, the same color as the other perianth segments. In some species (e.g., H. bidentata) there is a bright yellow callus in the form of two teeth near the base of the labellum. The pollinarium contains four pollinia. According to the rules of the

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

, ''Hexisea'' is the name that should be used for all ''Scaphyglottis'', because the name ''Hexisea'' (for one of these species) was published before ''Scaphyglottis''. However, Dressler suggested that the name Scaphyglottis be retained to avoid changing the names of a large number of well known species., and that the formally correct name ''Hexisea'' be used only when referring to those species which had been traditionally known as ''Hexisea''. On the strength of this recommendation, Kew has made ''Scaphyglottis'' the accepted name, and reduced the correct name ''Hexisea'' to synonymy. ''Euothonaea'' was published by Reichenbach in 1852, but was invalid for technical reasons This genus has always been relegated to synonomy under ''Hexisea''. *''Euothonea oppositifolia'' (A.Rich. & Galeotti) Rchb.f. (1852) was previously published as ''Epidendrum oppositifoliium'' A.Rich. & Galeotti (1854). In 1850, it was published as ''Diothonea oppositifolia'' (A.Rich. & Galeotti) Rchb.f. and in 1862 as ''Hexisea oppositifolia'' (A.Rich. & Galeotti) Rchb.f. In 2002, Dressler reduced it to synonymy under ''Hexisea imbricata'' by publishing the name ''Scaphpyglottis imbricata''. ''Costaricaea'' was erected by Schlechter in 1923 for ''Costaricaea amparoana'', which was moved to ''Hexisea amparoana'' in 1934 and then to ''Scaphyglottis amparoana'' in 1964. ''Platyglottis'' was proposed in 1942 by Louis Otto Williams for the new

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

nian species ''Platyglottis coriacea''. In 2004, Dressler transferred it to ''Scaphyglottis coriaceae''. Although the pseudobulbs of this species grow from the apices of previous pseudobulbs like the rest of the genus ''Scaphyglottis'', this species differs by having wide. flat, coriaceous, alternate leaves, and an apical racemose inflorescence with up to four pale flowers open at once, featuring long ovaries and large bracts at the base of the peduncle. Both the vegetative and floral morphology make this species easy to distinguish for the other species of ''Scaphyglottis''. ''Helleriella.'' In 1974 Garay and Sweet transferred ''Scaphyglottis punctulata '' (Reichenbach f.) C. Schweinfurth, (''Ponera punctulata'' Reichenbach f., ''Epidendrum dussii'' Cogniaux) to the Andean genus ''Helleriella'' without any explanation. A comparison of ''S. punctulata'' with the two species of ''Helleriella'' shows that it fits poorly into that genus. Except for a somewhat unusual habit it is a typical Scaphyglottis. This is also confirmed by molecular data.

Subtaxa

A study of inner transcribed spacer data has suggested that the

illegitimate name ''Nomen illegitimum'' (Latin for illegitimate name) is a technical term, used mainly in botany. It is usually abbreviated as ''nom. illeg.'' Although the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants uses Latin terms for other ki ...

''Pachystele'' Schltr. (1923) corresponds to a well-supported clade distinct from the remainder of the modern concept of ''Scaphyglottis'', as does the species ''S. livida''. The authors of the study noted that this "''Pachystele'' clade" corresponds roughly to ''Hexisea sensu lato'': * ''S. amparoana'' * ''S. arctata'' * ''S. bidentata'' * ''S. chlorantha'' * ''S. confusa'' * ''S. cuniculata'' * ''S. corallorrhiza'' * ''S. densa'' * ''S. fasciculata'' * ''S. gentryi'' * ''S. gigantea'' * ''S. imbricata'' * ''S. jimenezii'' * ''S. reflexa'' * ''S. sigmoidea'' The paper did not publish any names for these three suggested sub-taxa of ''Scaphyglottis'', but did publish three new combinations.

Species

* '' S. acostaei'' (

Schltr. Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter (16 October 1872 – 16 November 1925) was a German taxonomist, botanist, and author of several works on orchids. He went on botanical expeditions in Africa, Indonesia, New Guinea, South and Central America a ...

)

C.Schweinf. Charles Schweinfurth (April 13, 1890 – November 16, 1970) was an American botanist and plant collector who distinguished himself by his studies on orchids. He predominantly collected species from Peru which he described in his four volume refer ...

(1941) * '' S. amparoana'' (Schltr.) Dressler (1964) * '' S. antillana'' is not listed by Kew * '' S. arctata'' (Dressler) B.R.Adams (1988) * '' S. atwoodii'' Dressler (1997) * '' S. aurea'' (

Rchb.f. Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (Dresden, 3 January 1823 – Hamburg, 6 May 1889) was a botanist and the foremost German orchidologist of the 19th century. His father Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (author of ''Icones Florae Germanicae et Helve ...

) Foldats (1959) * '' S. behrii'' (Rchb.f.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex Hemsl. (1884) * '' S. bicallosa'' Dressler (2000) * '' S. bicornis'' (

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

) Garay (1967) * '' S. bidentata'' (Lindl.) Dressler (2002) * '' S. bifida'' (Rchb.f.) C.Schweinf. (1941) * '' S. bilineata'' (Rchb.f.) Schltr. (1918) * '' S. boliviensis'' (Rolfe) B.R.Adams (1988) * '' S. brasiliensis'' (Schltr.) Dressler (2004) * '' S. caricalensis'' (

Kraenzl. Friedrich (Fritz) Wilhelm Ludwig Kränzlin (25 July 1847 – 9 March 1934) was a botanist associated with the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum (BM). In the history of the European study of South African orchids, Fritz Krä ...

) Correll (1941) * '' S. cernua'' Dressler (2004) * '' S. chlorantha'' B.R.Adams (1988) * '' S. clavata'' Dressler (2004) * '' S. condorana'' Dodson (1998) * '' S. conferta'' (Ruiz & Pav.) Poepp. & Endl. (1831) * '' S. confusa'' (Schltr.) Ames & Correll (1942) * '' S. corallorrhiza'' (

Ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, Oklah ...

) Ames, F.T.Hubb. & C.Schweinf. (1934) * '' S. coriacea'' (L.O.Williams) Dressler (2004) * '' S. crurigera'' (Bateman ex Lindl.) Ames & Correll (1942) * '' S. cuniculata'' (Schltr.) Dressler (2002) * '' S. densa'' (Schltr.) B.R.Adams (1988) * '' S. dunstervillei'' (Garay) Foldats (1968) * '' S. emarginata'' (Garay) Dressler (2004) * '' S. fasciculata'' Hook. (1841) * '' S. fusiformis'' (Griseb.) R.E.Schult. (1957) * '' S. geminata'' Dressler & Mora-Ret. (1993) * '' S. gentryi'' Dodson & Monsalve (1998) * '' S. gigantea'' Dressler (1979) * '' S. grandiflora'' Ames & C.Schweinf. (1931) * '' S. hirtzii'' Dodson (1998) * '' S. hondurensis'' (Ames) L.O.Williams (1950) * '' S. imbricata'' (Lindl.) Dressler (2002) * '' S. jimenezii'' Schltr. (1918) * '' S. laevilabium'' Ames (1921) * '' S. leucantha'' Rchb.f. (1850) * '' S. limonensis'' B.R.Adams (1988) * '' S. lindeniana'' (A.Rich. & Galeotti) L.O.Williams (1941) * '' S. livida'' (Lindl.) Schltr. (1918) * '' S. longicaulis'' S.Watson (1888) * '' S. mesocopis'' ( & Rchb.f.)

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

Hook.f. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...

Hemsl. William Botting Hemsley (29 December 1843, in East Hoathly – 7 October 1924, in Kent) was an English botanist and 1909 Victoria Medal (horticulture), Victoria Medal of Honour recipient. He was born in East Hoathly, Sussex and in 1860 started wo ...

(1884) * '' S. michelangeliorum'' Carnevali & Steyerm. (1984) * '' S. micrantha'' (Lindl.) Ames & Correll (1942) * '' S. minutiflora'' Ames & Correll (1942) * '' S. modesta'' (

) Schltr. (1926) * '' S. monspirrae'' Dressler (2000) * '' S. pachybulbon'' (Schltr.) Dressler (2000) * '' S. panamensis'' B.R.Adams (1988) * '' S. prolifera'' ( R.Br.)

Cogn. Célestin Alfred Cogniaux (7 April 1841 – 15 April 1916) was a Belgian botanist. Amongst other plants, the genus ''Neocogniauxia'' of orchids is named after him. In 1916 his enormous private herbarium was acquired by the National Botanic ...

(1898) * '' S. propinqua'' C.Schweinf. (1955) * '' S. pulchella'' (Schltr.) L.O.Williams (1941) * '' S. punctulata'' (Rchb.f.) C.Schweinf. (1955) * '' S. reflexa'' Lindl. (1939) * '' S. robusta'' B.R.Adams (1988) * '' S. sessiliflora'' B.R.Adams (1988) * '' S. sickii'' Pabst (1956) * '' S. sigmoidea'' (Ames & C.Schweinf.) B.R.Adams (1988) * '' S. spathulata'' C.Schweinf. (1941) * '' S. stellata'' Lodd. ex Lindl. (1839) * '' S. sublibera'' (C.Schweinf.) Dressler (1964) * '' S. subulata'' Schltr. (1910) * '' S. summersii'' L.O.Williams (1940) * '' S. tenella'' L.O.Williams (1941) * '' S. tenuis'' L.O.Williams (1941) * '' S. triloba'' B.R.Adams (1988)

Hybrids

A few greges produced by hybridizing ''Scaphyglottis'' species have been registered: * ''Scaphingoa'' Little Gem was registered in 1964 by WWG Moir with the nothogeneric epithet ''Domindesmia''. It was produced by pollinating a ''

Domingoa ''Domingoa'' is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae), consisting of four currently recognised species at home in Mexico, Central America, Cuba, Hispaniola and Mona of the Greater Antilles. The genus was established in 1913 by Rudolf Schlechte ...

haematochila'' with pollen from a ''S. pulchella'' (then known as ''Hexadesmia pulchella''). * ''Scaphyglottis'' (''Seahexa'') Gold was registered in 1983 by WWG Moir with the nothogeneric epithet ''Seahexa''. It was produced by pollinating a ''S. pulchella'' (then known as ''Hexadesmia pulchella'') with a ''S. aurea'' (then known as ''Hexisea aurea''). * ''Epiglottis'' Rumrill Elf was registered in 1985 by J Rumrill. It was produced by pollinating a ''S. crurigera'' with an '' Epidendrum radicans''.

Medical use

In response to reports of the use of ''Scaphyglottis'' species in popular medicine for pain relief, a study was performed which showed that oral administration of certain substances (5alpha-lanosta-24,24-dimethyl-9(11),25-dien-3beta-ol, cyclobalanone, gigantol, and 3,4'-dihydroxy-3',4,5-trimethoxybibenzyl) found in '' S. livida'' produced anti-inflammatory and

antinociceptive Nociception (also nocioception, from Latin ''nocere'' 'to harm or hurt') is the Somatosensory system, sensory nervous system's process of encoding Noxious stimulus, noxious stimuli. It deals with a series of events and processes required for an org ...

effects in

rats Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' (pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

and

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

, apparently (at least partially) by activation of

opioid receptors Opioid receptors are a group of inhibitory G protein-coupled receptors with opioids as ligands. The endogenous opioids are dynorphins, enkephalins, endorphins, endomorphins and nociceptin. The opioid receptors are ~40% identical to somatostatin r ...

.Déciga-Campos M, Palacios-Espinosa JF, Reyes-Ramírez A, Mata R. (2007). "Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of compounds isolated from ''Scaphyglottis livida'' and ''Maxillaria densa''." ''Journal of Ethnopharmacology'' (J Ethnopharmacol), 114(2):161–168. Published in Ireland.

References

* R Govaerts, A Campacci (Brazil, 2005), D Holland Baptista (Brazil, 2005), P Cribb (K, 2003), Alex George (K, 2003), K. Kreuz (2004, Europe), J Wood (K, 2003, Europe) (Novembro 2008). World Checklist of Orchidaceae. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1922368 Laeliinae genera Epiphytic orchids Taxa named by Eduard Friedrich Poeppig