Galeandra

Lindley 1830

Pronunciation:

gal-ee-AN-dra (click on the name to hear it spoken)
Tribe: Cymbidieae 
Subtribe: Cyrtopodiinae


John Lindley proposed this genus in 1830. The generic epithet means helmet shaped and refers to the shape of the anther cap. The type species is G. baueri. The genus is characterized by the elongate, cylindrical or spindle-shaped pseudobulbs and thin, narrow, heavily veined, distichous leaves at the nodes. The inflorescences are produced from the top of the pseudobulbs and are few to many-flowered. Most of the species have very showy flowers with tubular lips. In most species, plants occur as epiphytes at low elevations between sea level to 500 meters. A few occur at higher elevations as terrestrials. Most commonly known are G. baueri, G. batemanii, and G. devoniana.

Number of species:

The World Monocot Checklist contains 18 accepted names. (2007)

Distribution:

The American tropics from Mexico to Bolivia, especially the Amazon region.