Chaubardiella
(pronounced: shaw-bar-dee-EL-lah)
Classification
Maxillarieae subtribe Zygopetalinae
Overview
Miniature epiphytes, without pseudobulbs, forming fan-shaped growths. Roots coarse, white. Leaves several, alternate, distichous, oblanceolate, petiolate. Inflorescences axillary scapes, appressed to the substrate. Flowers one to several, fleshy, nestled in the substrate. Sepals and petals free, spreading, subsimilar, subequal. Lip unlobed, strongly cupped, the callus transverse, smooth or shallowly ridged toward the base. Column stout, with a short foot and broad low wings; pollinia 4, in two tightly appressed pairs, on a common stipe and viscidium.
Etymology
Named for its similarity to the orchid genus Chaubardia.
Distribution
A genus of six species from Costa Rica to Peru.
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Grow plants of Chaubardiella in small pots with a fine-grade epiphyte mixture or sphagnum moss (living or dead) or on slabs with a large pad of moisture-retaining material at the roots. Provide medium light levels, cool-intermediate temperatures, and regular watering throughout the year. Because of the way in which the flowers hug the substrate, the pots or slabs should be kept small to best display the flowers.
Literature
Jenny, R. 1989. Zwei neue Arten aus der Chondrorhyncha-Verwandtschaft, Chaubardiella pacuarensis und Chondrorhyncha andreeettae. Die Orchidee 40(3):91-94. Sheehan, T. and M. Sheehan 1997. Orchid genera illustrated 175: Chaubardiella. Orchids 66(3):260-261.
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