Bletia
(pronounced: BLEE-tee-ah)
Classification
Arethuseae subtribe Bletiinae
Overview
Terrestrials arising from subterranean corms. Leaves plicate, lanceolate, acuminate, subpetiolate with the bases forming a false stem. Inflorescences terminal racemes or panicles, erect to suberect-arching, the floral bracts inconspicuous. Flowers cupped, pink to reddish-purple. Sepals and petals free, spreading, usually subsimilar and subequal. Lip three-lobed, sessile, the lateral lobes erect, the midlobe usually with undulate margins, the callus of longitudinal, parallel, usually undulate keels. Column arching, club-shaped; pollinia 8, on minute caudicles.
Etymology
Honoring Don Luis Blet, an 18th century Catalonian apothecary.
Distribution
A genus of up to 30 species ranging from the U.S.A. (Florida) to Bolivia with a center of diversity in Mexico.
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Grow plants of Bletia in pots of sandy loam. Provide warm temperatures, full light, and regular watering during active growth. After flowering reduce watering to a maintenance level until the onset of new shoots.
Literature
Diaz Dumas, M. A. 1988. Bletia volubilis, una nueva especie de orquÃdeas de Cuba oriental, durante mucho tiempo confundida con Bletia carabiaiana. Rev. Jard. Bot. Nacio. Univ. Habana 9:31-35. Dressler, R. L. 1968. Notes on Bletia (Orchidaceae). Brittonia 20:182-190. Dressler, R. L. 1971. Notas sobre el genero Bletia. OrquÃdea(Mex.) 1(7):9-21. Gonzalez Tamayo, R. and A. Jouy 1995. Commentaires sur le genre Crybe. L’Orchidoph. 117:116-122. Menezes, L. C. 1993. Bletia catenulata var. caerulea. Schlechteriana 4(4):154-156. Pena de Sousa, M. 1971. Nuevo status de Crybe en el genero Bletia. OrquideologÃa 6:51-55.
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