''Cymbidium'' , commonly known as boat orchids, is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the orchid

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

. Orchids in this genus are

epiphytic An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another 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 epiphyt ...

, lithophytic, terrestrial or rarely leafless saprophytic herbs usually with

pseudobulb In botany, a 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 ''heter ...

s. There are usually between three and twelve leaves arranged in two ranks on each pseudobulb or shoot and lasting for several years. From one to a large number of flowers are arranged on an unbranched flowering stem arising from the base of the pseudobulb. The

sepal 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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s and

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s are all free from and similar to each other. The labellum is significantly different from the other petals and the sepals and has three lobes. There are about fifty-five species and sixteen further natural hybrids occurring in the wild from

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

Asia to Australia. Cymbidiums are well known in horticulture and many

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s have been developed. The genome of ''Cymbidium mannii'' has been sequenced to study epiphytism and crassulacean acid metabolism.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Cymbidium'' are epiphytic, lithophytic or terrestrial plants, or rarely leafless saprophytes. All are

sympodial In botany, 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, als ...

herbs. Some species have thin stems but in most species the stems are modified as pseudobulbs. When present, there are from three to twelve leaves arrange in two ranks and last for several years. The leaf bases remain after the leaf has withered, forming a sheath around the pseudobulb. The flowers are arranged on an unbranched flowering stem which arises from the base of the pseudobulb or rarely from a leaf axil. The sepals and petals are usually thin and fleshy, free from, and more or less similar to each other. The labellum (as in other orchids, a highly modified third petal) is significantly different from the other petals and sepals. It is sometimes hinged to the column, or otherwise fused to it. The labellum has three lobes, the side lobes erect, sometimes surrounding the column and the middle lobe often curving downwards. After

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...

a glabrous capsule containing many light coloured seeds is produced.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Cymbidium'' was first formally described in 1799 by

Olof Swartz Olof Peter Swartz (21 September 1760 – 19 September 1818) was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes, but also studied orchids, mosses and lichens. Biography Olof Swartz a ...

who published the description in ''Nova acta Regiae Societatis Scientiarum Upsaliensis''. The genus name ''Cymbidium'' is means 'little boat-shape', referring to the labellum. In 1848 Blume raised the genus ''Cyperorchis'' in Fedde's ''Repertorium Specierum Novarum Regni Vegetabilis'' and moved 19 species and 26 hybrids previously included in ''Cymbidium'' to the new genus. In 1984 Christopher Seth and Phillip Cribb divided the genus into three subgenera ''Cyperorchis'', ''Jensoa'', and ''Cymbidium'' and each subgenus into sections. In 1988, Dupuy and Cribb modified the sections. The three subgenera were confirmed by molecular phylogeny, however the sections did not show monophyly.

Species

The following is a list of ''Cymbidium'' species accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

as of April 2022 separated into subgenera:

Subgenus Cymbidium

Plants in this subgenus have two pollinia, each deeply cleft with callus ridges

Subgenus Cyperorchis

Plants in subgenus Cyberorchis have lips fused at the base to the base of the column.

Subgenus Jensoa

Plants in this subgenus have four pollinia, in two unequal pairs; lips attached to the base of the column,

Natural Hybrids

*'' Cymbidium × ballianum'' Rolfe *'' Cymbidium × baoshanense'' F.Y.Liu & Perner *'' Cymbidium × dilatatiphyllum'' J.M.H.Shaw *'' Cymbidium × florinda'' Rolfe *'' Cymbidium × gammieanum'' King & Pantl. *'' Cymbidium × glebelandense'' Rolfe *'' Cymbidium × hillii'' F.Muell. ex Regel *'' Cymbidium × monanthum'' J.M.H.Shaw *'' Cymbidium × nishiuchianum'' Makino ex J.M.H.Shaw *'' Cymbidium × nomachianum'' T.Yukawa & Nob.Tanaka *'' Cymbidium × nujiangense'' X.P.Zhou, S.P.Lei & Z.J.Liu *'' Cymbidium × oblancifolium'' Z.J.Liu & S.C.Chen *'' Cymbidium × purpuratum'' L.J.Chen, Li.Q.Li & Z.J.Liu *'' Cymbidium × rosefieldense'' Rolfe *'' Cymbidium × woodlandense'' Rolfe

Distribution

This genus is distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia (such as northern India, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

) and Australia. The large flowering species from which the large flowering hybrids are derived usually grow at low altitudes, while short leaved species, from which compact hybrids with small to medium size flowers are derived, are high altitudes lithophytes and epiphytes.

Uses

Use in horticulture

''Cymbidium'' (abbreviated ''Cym.'' in the horticultural tradeAlphabetical List of Standard Abbreviations for Natural and Hybrid Generic Names, Royal Horticultural Society, 2017 https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/plant-registration-forms/orchid-name-abbreviations-list.pdf) orchids are among the oldest horticultural orchids in the world and were mentioned in a manuscript from the Jin dynasty from about 200 BCE and by

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

. Today they are among the most popular orchid genera in cultivation. They have decorative flowers spikes and are one of the least demanding indoor orchids. To flower well they need a distinct difference between day and night temperatures in late summer. Plants need to remain outside in autumn until night temperatures drop to near . Cymbidiums have few pests or diseases but can be affected by aphids, spider mites and viral diseases.

Use in cooking

The species '' Cymbidium hookerianum'' is considered a delicacy in Bhutan, where it is traditionally cooked in a spicy curry or stew and called "olatshe" or "olachoto".

References

External links

Multikey System for Identification of ''Cymbidium'' species

Cymbidium Society of America

Cymbidium Club of Australia
{{Authority control Cymbidiinae genera Epiphytic orchids Taxa named by Olof Swartz