''Stanhopea'' is a genus of 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 ...

) from

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

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 ...

. The abbreviation used in horticultural trade is ''Stan.'' The genus is named for the 4th Earl of Stanhope (Philip Henry Stanhope) (1781-1855), president of the Medico-Botanical Society of London (1829-1837). It comprises 55 species and 5 natural hybrids. These

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 ...

, but occasionally

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

orchids can be found in damp forests from

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 ...

to Trinidad to NW

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> Their ovate

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 carry from the top one long, plicate, elliptic

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

. ''Stanhopea'' is noted for its complex and usually fragrant

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 that are generally spectacular and short-lived. Their pendant

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 ...

s are noted for flowering out of the bottom of the containers in which they grow, lending themselves to culture in baskets that have enough open space for the inflorescence to push through. They are sometimes called upside-down orchids. The majority of species are robust plants that grow readily in cultivation. For relatives of ''Stanhopea'' see Stanhopeinae and the closely related sister subtribe

Coeliopsidinae Coeliopsidinae is an orchid subtribe in the tribe Cymbidieae. The three members of this subtribe have traditionally been lumped in with Stanhopeinae, but obvious morphological traits and new molecular analysis by Whitten et al. in 2000 confirmed ...

Description

Most ''Stanhopea'' flowers flash prominent, elegant horns on the epichile. The exception are the species; '' S. annulata'', '' S. avicula'', '' S. cirrhata'', '' S. ecornuta'' and '' S. pulla''. A second group have short or truncated horns, they include the species; '' S. candida'', '' S. grandiflora'', '' S. reichenbachiana'', '' S. tricornis'' and the natural hybrid '' S. x herrenhusana''. The structure of the labellum of this group is in general, not as complex as other members of the genus. With most ''Stanhopea'' flowers lasting three days or less, the flowers must attract pollinators very quickly. These chemical attractants are generated in the hypochile, attracting the male

euglossine The tribe (biology), tribe Euglossini, in the subfamily Apinae, commonly known as orchid bees or euglossine bees, are the only group of Pollen basket, corbiculate bees whose non-parasitic members do not all possess Eusociality, eusocial behavior. ...

bees to the flower. These male euglossine bees are known to be important pollinators of ''Stanhopea'' flowers, collecting fragrances at these flowers over their lifetime and storing them in their hind tibia. Bees in the Euglossini tribe, including ''

Eulaema meriana ''Eulaema meriana'' is a large-bodied bee species in the tribe Euglossini, otherwise known as the orchid bees. The species is a solitary bee and is native to tropical Central and South America. The male collects fragrances from orchid flowers, wh ...

'', are known to pollinate these flowers supposedly because the orchids can deceptively mimic the form of a female and her sex pheromone. When the bee touches down on the flower, a great effort is made to collect chemical scent - he eventually slides on the waxy surface of the hypochile, gliding down on the slippery lip to exit the flower. The long

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 touched in the process, resulting in the bee taking up

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 ...

at the very tip of the column. When the bee slides down another flower, the pollinia are deposited on the sticky surface of the stigma.

Species

*'' Stanhopea aliceae'' Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea anfracta'' Rolfe (SE. Ecuador to Bolivia) *'' Stanhopea annulata'' Mansf. (S. Colombia to Ecuador) *''

Stanhopea avicula ''Stanhopea avicula'' is a species of orchid endemic to 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 Ame ...

'' Dressler (Panama) *'' Stanhopea bueraremensis'' Campacci & Marçal (E. Brazil) *''

Stanhopea candida ''Stanhopea candida'' is a species of orchid endemic to southern tropical America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America ...

'' Barb.Rodr. (S. Trop. America) *'' Stanhopea cephalopodaa'' Archila, Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea chironii'' Archila, Pérez-García & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea cirrhata'' Lindl. (C. America) *'' Stanhopea confusa'' G.Gerlach & Beeche (C. America) *'' Stanhopea connata'' Klotzsch (Colombia to Peru) *'' Stanhopea costaricensis'' Rchb.f. (C. America) *'' Stanhopea deltoidea'' Lem. (Peru to Bolivia) *'' Stanhopea dodsoniana'' Salazar & Soto Arenas (NC. & S. Mexico to Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea ecornuta'' Lem. (C. America) *'' Stanhopea embreei'' Dodson (Ecuador) *'' Stanhopea florida'' Rchb.f. (Ecuador to Peru) *'' Stanhopea fonsecae'' Archila, Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea frymirei'' Dodson (Ecuador) *'' Stanhopea gibbosa'' Rchb.f. (= S. carchiensis, = S. impressa; S Colombia to Ecuador) *''

Stanhopea grandiflora :Stanhopea grandiflora (Humb. & Bonpl.) Rchb.f. ''is a synonym of'' Stanhopea jenischiana. ''Stanhopea grandiflora'' is a species of orchid occurring from Trinidad to southern tropical America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA) ...

'' Lindl. (Trinidad to S. Trop. America) *'' Stanhopea graveolens'' Lindl.(Mexico to C. America, Brazil to NW. Argentina) *'' Stanhopea greeri'' Jenny (Peru) *'' Stanhopea guttulata'' Lindl. (SE. Brazil) *'' Stanhopea haseloffiana'' Rchb.f. (N. Peru) *'' Stanhopea hernandezii'' (Kunth) Schltr. (C. & SW. Mexico) *'' Stanhopea insignis'' J.Frost ex Hook. (SE. & S. Brazil) *'' Stanhopea intermedia'' Klinge (SW. Mexico) *'' Stanhopea javieri'' Archila, Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea jenischiana'' F.Kramer ex Rchb.f.(Colombia to NW. Venezuela and S. Ecuador) *'' Stanhopea lietzei'' (Regel) Schltr. (E. & S. Brazil) *'' Stanhopea macrocornata'' Archila, Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea maculosa'' Knowles & Westc. (W. Mexico) *'' Stanhopea madouxiana'' Cogn. (Colombia) *'' Stanhopea maduroi'' Dodson & Dressler (Panama to N.Colombia) *'' Stanhopea manriqueii'' Jenny & Nauray (Peru) *'' Stanhopea marizana'' Jenny (Peru) *''

Stanhopea martiana ''Stanhopea martiana'' is a species of orchid endemic to southwestern Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America ...

'' Bateman ex Lindl. (SW. Mexico) *'' Stanhopea marylenae'' Archila, Chiron & Pérez-García (Guatemala) *''

Stanhopea moliana ''Stanhopea'' is a genus of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) from Central and South America. The abbreviation used in horticultural trade is ''Stan.'' The genus is named for the 4th Earl of Stanhope (Philip Henry Stanhope) (1781-1855), president ...

'' Rolfe (Peru) *'' Stanhopea napoensis'' Dodson (Ecuador) *'' Stanhopea naurayi'' Jenny (Peru) *'' Stanhopea nicaraguensis'' G.Gerlach (Nicaragua) *'' Stanhopea nigripes'' Rolfe (Peru) *'' Stanhopea novogaliciana'' S.Rosillo (Mexico - Nayarit, Jalisco) *''

Stanhopea oculata ''Stanhopea oculata'' is a species of orchid occurring from Mexico to Colombia and southeastern Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and ...

'' (Lodd.)Lindl. (Mexico to Colombia, SE. Brazil) *'' Stanhopea oscarrodrigoi'' Archila, Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea ospinae'' Dodson (Colombia) *''

Stanhopea panamensis ''Stanhopea'' is a genus of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) from Central and South America. The abbreviation used in horticultural trade is ''Stan.'' The genus is named for the 4th Earl of Stanhope (Philip Henry Stanhope) (1781-1855), president ...

'' N.H.Williams & W.M.Whitten (Panama) *'' Stanhopea peruviana'' Rolfe (Peru) *'' Stanhopea platyceras'' Rchb.f. (Colombia) *'' Stanhopea posadae'' Jenny et Braem (Colombia) *'' Stanhopea pozoi'' Dodson & D.E.Benn. (S. Ecuador) *'' Stanhopea pseudoradiosa'' Jenny & R.Gonzalez (SW. Mexico) *'' Stanhopea pulla'' Rchb.f. (Costa Rica to N. Colombia) *'' Stanhopea radiosa'' Lem. (W. Mexico) *''

Stanhopea reichenbachiana ''Stanhopea reichenbachiana'' is a species of orchid occurring from western Colombia to Ecuador. It is named for the botanists Philip Henry Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope and Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (Dresden, 3 Jan ...

'' Roezl ex Rchb.f. (Colombia) *'' Stanhopea rubroatrata'' Archila, Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea rubromaculata'' Archila, Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea ruckeri'' Lindl. (= S. inodora; Mexico to C. America) *'' Stanhopea saccata'' Bateman (Mexico - Chiapas to C. America) *'' Stanhopea saintexuperyi'' Archila, Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea schilleriana'' Rchb.f. (Colombia) *'' Stanhopea shuttleworthii'' Rchb.f. (Colombia) *'' Stanhopea stevensonii'' A.Mejia & R.Escobar ex Jenny (Colombia) *'' Stanhopea szlachetkoana'' Archila, Pérez-García & Chiron (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea tigrina'' Bateman ex Lindl. (Mexico) *'' Stanhopea tolimensis'' G.Gerlach (Colombia) *''

Stanhopea tricornis ''Stanhopea tricornis'' is a species of orchid endemic to western South America (Colombia). References External links * * tricornis ''Tricornis'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Strombidae, the true ...

'' Lindl. (W. South America) *'' Stanhopea victoriana'' Archila, Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea wardii'' Lodd. ex Lindl. (Nicaragua to Venezuela) *'' Stanhopea warszewicziana'' Klotzsch (Costa Rica) *'' Stanhopea whittenii'' Soto Arenas, Salazar & G.Gerlach (Mexico to Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea xanthoviridea'' Archila, Pérez-García, Chiron & Szlach. (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea xytriophora'' Rchb.f. (S. Peru to Bolivia)

Natural hybrids

*'' Stanhopea × fowlieana'' Jenny (''S. costaricensis'' × ''S. ecornuta'') (Costa Rica) *'' Stanhopea × herrenhusana'' Jenny (''S. reichenbachiana'' × ''S. tricornis'') (Colombia) *'' Stanhopea × horichiana'' Jenny (''S. ecornuta'' × ''S. wardii'') (Costa Rica) *'' Stanhopea × lewisae'' Ames & Correll (''S. ecornuta'' × ''S. inodora'') (Guatemala) *'' Stanhopea × quadricornis'' Lindl. (''S. grandflora'' × ''S. wardii'') (Colombia) *'' Stanhopea × thienii'' Dodson (''S. annulata'' × ''S. impressa'') (Ecuador)

Intergeneric hybrids

*× ''Aciopea'' (''Acineta'' × ''Stanhopea''). ''Aciopea Guillermo'' Gaviria (''Acineta erythroxantha'' × ''Stanhopea wardii'') was registered Nov-Dec 2004 by Guillermo Gaviria-Correa (Colombia). **× ''Aciopea'' is abbreviated Aip. *× ''Cirrhopea'' (''Cirrhaea'' × ''Stanhopea'') *× ''Coryhopea'' (''Coryanthes'' × ''Stanhopea'') *× ''Stangora'' (''Gongora'' × ''Stanhopea'') *× ''Stanhocycnis'' (''Polycycnis'' × ''Stanhopea'')

Gallery

Species

Image:Stanhopea anfracta Orchi 001.jpg, ''Stanhopea anfracta'' Image:Stanhopea annulata Orchi 001.jpg, ''Stanhopea annulata'' Image:Stanhopea candida Orchi 001.jpg, ''Stanhopea candida'' Image:Stanhopea cirrhata Orchi 001.jpg, ''Stanhopea cirrhata'' Image:Stanhopea connata Orchi 001.jpg, ''Stanhopea connata'' Image:Stanhopea costaricensis - Curtis 146 (ser, 4 no. 16) pl. 8830 (1920).jpg, ''Stanhopea costaricensis'' Image:Stanhopea ecornuta Orchi 001.jpg, ''Stanhopea ecornuta'' Image:Stanhopea embreei Orchi 001.jpg, ''Stanhopea embreei'' Image:Stanhopea grandiflora - fl 2.jpg, ''Stanhopea grandiflora''

Natural hybrids

Image:Stanhopea x horichiana Orchi 01.jpg, ''Stanhopea × horichiana''

References

* Gerlach, G. & Beeche, J. 2004: Stanhopeinae Mesoamericanae III (Orchidaceae). Reestablecimiento de Stanhopea ruckeri y una especie nueva: Stanhopea confusa. Lankesteriana 4(3): 213–222. * Gerlach, G. 2010: Stanhopeinae Mesoamericanae V: El aroma floral de las Stanhopeas de Mexico. Lankesteriana 9(3): 431–442. * Rudolf Jenny (December 1993) "The Genus ''Stanhopea''," in: Orchids 62(12):1270-1277 * Rudolf Jenny (December 2003) "The Genus ''Stanhopea''. Part 1: ''S. anfracta'' to ''S. napoensis''," in: Caesiana no. 21, Supplement. 200 color photos, 160 p. * Jenny, R. (2004) "The genus ''Stanhopea'': 2nd part, ''S. nigripes'' to ''S. xytriophora''" Caesiana no. 22: 146–291. * (in German)

External links

* *
Photo collections of ''Stanhopea'' from Botanical Garden Munich.

The ''Stanhopea'' Pages website by Nina Rach

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2719974 Stanhopeinae genera Epiphytic orchids