Aulosepalum
(pronounced: awl-oh-SEE-pah-lum)
Classification
Cranichideae subtribe Spiranthinae
Overview
Rosulate terrestrials with fleshy fasciculate roots. Leaves oblanceolate, petiolate. Inflorescences terminal erect pedunculate spicate racemes, the floral bracts conspicuous. Flowers not resupinate, tubular, green and white. Sepals fused for half their length into a tube, petals free. Lip obscurely three-lobed, long-clawed, with tooth-like thickenings near the base. Column fused to the dorsal sepal for half its length, with a foot, the rostellum short, triangular, notched at the apex; pollinia 2, on a common viscidium.
Etymology
From the Greek aulos, meaning flute, and the Latin sepalum, meaning sepal, in reference to the sepaline tube.
Distribution
A genus of four species from Mesoamerica.
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Grow plants of Aulosepalum in pots of a sandy terrestrial mixture. Provide full light, intermediate to warm temperatures, and regular watering when the plants are in active growth. After flowering reduce watering to a maintenance schedule and allow the plants to go semi-dormant, with most of the leaves withering.
Literature
Garay, L. A. 1980. A generic revision of the Spiranthinae. Bot. Mus. Leafl. 28(4):278-425.
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