Bromheadia
(pronounced: brom-HED-ee-ah)
Classification
Cymbidieae subtribe Bromheadiinae
Overview
Caespitose or trailing epiphytes and terrestrials. Stems erect, leafy toward their apices. Leaves alternate, distichous, linear to narrowly elliptic or bilaterally compressed. Inflorescences terminal racemes, sessile to long-pedunculate, with strongly two-ranked floral bracts. Flowers ephemeral, lasting less than one day. Sepals and petals free, spreading. Lip three-lobed, with apical and sometimes basal usually warty callus. Column straight, without wings or foot; pollinia 2, sessile on a large viscidium.
Etymology
Honoring Sir Edward French Bromhead, an active student of botany.
Distribution
A genus of 17 species found from Sri Lanka to New Guinea and Australia. The genus is divided into two sections; section Bromheadia bears typical leaves while section Aporodes Schlechter bears bilaterally compressed leaves.
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Grow plants of Bromheadia in pots or baskets with medium-grade epiphyte mixture. Provide full light, warm temperatures, and regular watering throughout the year.
Literature
Holttum, R. E. 1949. Gregarious flowering of the terrestrial orchid Bromheadia finlaysoniana. Gard. Bull. Singapore 12(2):295-302. Hunt, T. E. 1953. Bromheadia Lindl., a new genus for Australia. Austral. Orchid Rev. 18:101. Lavarack, P. S., M. A. Clements and N. H. S. Howcroft 1984. Bromheadia pulchra Schltr. in Australia and New Guinea. Orchadian 7(12):291-294. Kruizinga, J., H. J. van Scheindelen and E. F. de Vogel 1997. Revision of the genus Bromheadia. Orch. Monogr. 8:79-118. Ridley, H. N. 1891. The genus Bromheadia. J. Linn. Soc. Bot. 28:331-339.
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