''Ipsea'' 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 ...

of 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 ...

), with three species that are found in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> Three species are recognized: *'' Ipsea malabarica'' (Rchb.f.) Hook.f. - southern India *'' Ipsea speciosa'' Lindl. - southern India, Sri Lanka *'' Ipsea thailandica'' Seidenf. - Thailand The genus was erected by

John Lindley John Lindley Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidology, orchidologist. Early years Born in Old Catton, Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four c ...

in 1831 with the type species ''I. speciosa'' which was discovered in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka in 1829 by James Macrae. A similar species was found by Jerdon and was doubtfully considered as a new species by

Robert Wight Robert Wight (6 July 1796 – 26 May 1872) was a Scottish surgeon in the East India Company, whose professional career was spent entirely in southern India, where his greatest achievements were in botany – as an economic botanist and leading ...

. This was later described as ''Ipsea malabarica'', restricted to Silent Valley in northern Kerala. This endangered species with a very narrow distribution range grows on steep mountain slopes in moist rocky and sunny areas in association with ''Tripogon bromoides'', ''T. ananthaswamianus'', ''Eulalia'' sp., ''Fimbristylis'' sp., ''Utricularia coerulea'', ''Drosera burmanni'', ''Eriocaulon truncatum'' and other such plants. They flower from October to December.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3308286 Collabieae genera Orchids of India Orchids of Sri Lanka Orchids of Thailand