Thelyschista
(pronounced: thee-lee-SHISS-tah)
Classification
Cranichideae subtribe Spiranthinae
Overview
Terrestrials with fleshy, fasciculate roots. Stems short. Leaves rosulate. Inflorescences erect pedunculate racemes. Flowers somewhat nodding, tubular, white. Sepals and petals subsimilar, the sepals densely pubescent on their outer surfaces, the petals appressed to the dorsal sepal. Lip obscurely three-lobed, without callus. Column short, with a short foot, the stigma deeply cleft in two triangular lobes, the rostellum elongate, blunt; pollinia 2, linear, on a common linear viscidium.
Etymology
From the Greek thelys, meaning female, and schistos, meaning split or divided, referring to the deeply cleft stigma.
Distribution
A monotypic genus endemic to Brazil.
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Grow plants of Thelyschista in pots with sandy loam. Provide bright light and intermediate temperatures. Provide regular watering throughout the growing season, reducing water after flowering to a maintenance level.
Literature
Garay, L. A. 1982 (1980). A generic revision of the Spiranthinae. Bot. Mus. Leafl. 28(4):277-425.
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