Sacoila
(pronounced: sah-KOY-lah)
Classification
Cranichideae subtribe Spiranthinae
Overview
Rosulate acaulous terrestrials. Roots succulent, fasciculate. Leaves elliptic, rubbery, typically absent during flowering. Inflorescences erect, long-scapose, densely-flowered racemes. Flowers tubular. Sepals and petals free, subsimilar, the bases of the lateral sepals forming a short spur with the foot. Lip unlobed, saccate at the base, rigidly fused to the base of the column. Column short, stout, with a long foot, the stigmas two, the rostellum rigid, linear, sharply pointed; pollinia 2, narrowly club-shaped on a common linear viscidium.
Etymology
From the Latin saccos, meaning bag, and koilos, meaning hollow, describing the spur-like extension formed by the bases of the lateral sepals.
Distribution
A genus of ten species ranging from the U.S.A. (Florida) to Bolivia and Paraguay. The genus is sometimes included in Stenorrhynchos L. C. Richard but differs by the presence of a short, broad, external spur and the habit of flowering without any leaves.
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Grow Sacoila in pots of very sandy terrestrial compost. Provide very bright light levels, intermediate to warm temperatures, and steady watering throughout the year. The soil should be kept drier after the leaves have withered but should never be dried out completely.
Literature
Catling, P. M. 1987. Notes on the breeding systems of Sacoila lanceolata (Aublet) Garay (Orchidaceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 74:58-68. Catling, P. M. and C. J. Sheviak 1993. Taxonomic notes on some North American orchids. Lindleyana 8(2):77-81.
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