Luisia
(pronounced: loo-EEZ-ee-ah)
Classification
Vandeae subtribe Aeridinae
Overview
Monopodial epiphytes. Stems elongate, rooting only at the base. Leaves alternate, distichous, terete, fleshy. Inflorescences axillary, sessile, fleshy, densely-flowered racemes. Flowers fleshy, rigid, white to green, usually with a dark maroon lip. Sepals and petals free, spreading, subsimilar or with much narrower and longer petals. Lip unlobed to obscurely three-lobed (appearing subauriculate), sessile, concave at the base, with the midlobe (epichile) defined by a transverse ridge. Column short, straight; pollinia 2, porate, with a broad common stipe and visicidum.
Distribution
A genus of about 40 species throughout tropical Asia and the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Grow Luisia in pots with a freely-draining medium-grade epiphyte mixture. Provide bright light, intermediate to warm temperatures and regular watering throughout the year allowing the roots to dry slightly between waterings.
Literature
Seidenfaden, G. 1971. Notes on the genus Luisia. Dansk Bot. Arkiv 27(4):1-101. Sulistiarini, D. 1986. Anatomi daun dan status kedukan taksonomi Luisia latipetala. Berita Biol. 3:143-145. Sulistiarini, D. 1988. The orchid genus Luisia in Indonesia. Reinwardtia 10(4):383-398.
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