Smitinandia
(pronounced: smit-en-AN-dree-ah)
Classification
Vandeae subtribe Aeridinae
Overview
Monopodial epiphytes. Stems branching and rooting along their lower portions. Leaves alternate, distichous, strap-shaped, obliquely bilobed at the apex, leathery. Inflorescences axillary short-pedunculate densely-flowered racemes. Flowers numerous. Sepals and petals free, spreading. Lip three-lobed, saccate, the callus a transverse ovoid ridge at the base of the midlobe. Column short, without wings or foot; pollinia 4, in two unequal pairs, on a common stipe and viscidium.
Etymology
Named for botanist Tem Smitinand, long-time contributor to the orchid flora of Thailand with Gunnar Seidenfaden.
Distribution
A genus of three species with two species distributed from India (Northwest Himalaya) to Indochina and one in Sulawesi.
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Grow plants of Smitinandia in pots or baskets of medium-grade epiphyte mixture or on slabs without any moisture-retaining material at the roots. Provide intermediate temperatures, bright diffuse light levels, and regular watering throughout the year allowing the roots to dry out slightly between waterings. The roots of Smitinandia plants will decline if they are grown in a dense potting material that retains excessive amounts of water.
Literature
Seidenfaden, G. 1988. Orchid genera in Thailand XIV, Fifty-nine vandoid genera. Opera Bot. 95:1-398.
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