Jumellea

Vandeae subtribe Angraecinae

Monopodial epiphytes and lithophytes. Stems short with fan-shaped growths to elongate-viny, rooting at the base. Leaves alternate, distichous, +/- petiolate. Inflorescences solitary flowers in the leaf axils, either one per node or in fasciculate clusters. Flowers white, fragrant. Sepals and petals free, spreading, subsimilar, subequal, the petals often twisted at the base to lie horizontal. Lip unlobed, with an elongate, filiform spur, the spur initially parallel to the ovary. Column short, with a pair of stelidia, the foot very short; pollinia 2, each with a stipe attached to a common large viscidium.

A genus of 60 species native to Tropical Africa, South Africa, Madagascar, the Comoro Islands and the Mascarene Islands. Although the plant habits varies from species to species, the flowers of different Jumellea species are remarkably similar.

1 Leaves terete, needle-like. J. teretifolia 1' Leaves flat, not terete. 2 2(1') Pedicel and ovary short, less than 1.6 in. (4 cm) long. 3 2' Pedicel and ovary elongate, to 2.3 in. (6 cm) long or longer. 4 3(2) Spur elongate, to 4.7 in. (12 cm) long. J. comorensis 3' Spur short, to 1.2 in. (3 cm) long. J. filicornoides 4(2') Leaves smaller, to 15.6 in. (40 cm) or shorter. 5 4' Leaves large, to 27.3 in. (70 cm) long. J. major 5(4) Stems elongate. 6 5' Stems short, the growths fan-shaped. 7 6(5) Spur elongate, to 5.1 in. (13 cm) long. J. densefoliata 6' Spur short, to 1.4 in. (3.5 cm) long. J. fragrans 7(5') Spur elongate, to 5.8 in. (15 cm) long. J. gracilipes 7' Spur short, to 2.3 in. (6 cm) long. 8 8(7') Peduncle of the inflorescence short, to 0.4 in. (1 cm) long. J. maxillarioides 8' Peduncle of the inflorescence elongate, to 3.5 in. (9 cm) long. J. sagittata

Bock, I. 1996. Jumellea confusa (Schlechter) Schlechter 1915 [4]. Die Orchidee 47(5): Orchideenkartei seite 835-836; Senghas, K. 1967. Jumellea rossii, eine neue Orchidee von der Insel Reunion. Die Orchidee 18(5):240-245; Wood, J. J. 1983. A new species of Jumellea (Orchidaceae) from tropical Africa. Kew Bull. 37:77-79.