2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Bletilla (lat. Bletilla) - a small genus of herbaceous perennial plants belonging to the Orchid family (Latin Orchidaceae). The plants are distinguished by beautiful flowering, reminiscent of the flowering of plants of the genus Bletia (lat. Bletia), only the latter has larger flowers. The roots of orchids growing on the ground are used by Chinese medicine.
What's in your name
Since the appearance of plants of the genus "Bletilla" is very similar to plants of the genus "Bletia", only the size of the flowers in the described species does not reach the size of the second genus, botanists decided to name the genus by a Latin word that is a diminutive of the word "Bletia".
As for the origin of the Latin name of the genus "Bletia", it keeps the memory of the Spanish botanist with the name Luis Ble, or Blet (Luis Blet, XVIII century).
Although the genus does not differ in its numerous composition, the plants were described at different times and by different botanists, which led to the presence of names-synonyms, including "Jimensia" (described by Constantin Samuel Rafineschi) and "Polytoma" (described by João de Loureiro and Bernardine Antonio Gomes).
In the ornamental gardening literature, the three-letter abbreviation "Ble" is used.
Description
Orchids of the genus Bletilla have changed the epiphytic character, which is more often associated with plants of the Orchid family, by descending to the ground and firmly fixing their roots in the soil. Partially buried in the soil and rounded dense pseudobulbs, resembling corms of plants.
The aerial part of the plant appears in the spring in the form of several leaves born by a pseudobulba. Wide lanceolate leaves can be up to 50 centimeters long, have a green or mottled surface, soft texture and the ability to fold the halves of the leaf plate longitudinally.
With the onset of stable heat, peduncles appear, ranging in length from 20 to 40 centimeters in different species, bearing racemose few-flowered inflorescences. The small flowers show the typical orchid shape, with a three-lobed broad lip, decorated with specks and teeth, and a thin column. The flowers exude a faint aroma and are colored in shades from white to purple.
Varieties
Today there are no more than 9 (nine) species in the genus. Let's list a few of them:
* Bletilla striped (lat. Bletilla striata) - a very cute creature of nature, which has many synonymous names. In Japan, for example, the plant is called "Purple Orchid" for the color of its fragrant flower petals. To some, its inflorescences resemble Hyacinth inflorescences, and therefore the plant is called "Bletilla hyacinth". The tuberous rhizome lies at the heart of the perennial.
* Bletilla brown-yellow (Latin Bletilla ochracea) - grows in the wild in Vietnam and China, and therefore has another common name - "Chinese Earth Orchid". The plant is cultivated in some African countries, where traditional healers use the orchid in the fight against vampirism.
* Bletilla formosana (lat. Bletilla formosana) - a plant with pale pink, pink-purple flowers, with a more brightly colored base and edge of the lip. The flowers are relatively large, reaching a diameter of 3.5 centimeters. Although the species epithet implies the island of Formosa (Taiwan) as the homeland of the plant, it can be found in the broad-leaved and pine forests of China and Japan, in shaded areas. Although the love of shade does not prevent the plant from sometimes settling on rocky slopes open to the sun's rays. Quite cold-resistant orchid, wintering quietly in the UK and Scandinavian countries.
* Bletilla paper (lat. Bletilla chartacea) - found in northern Myanmar. First described by George King and Robert Pantling.
* Bletilla foliosa (lat. Bletilla foliosa) - this species has also been described by two botanists mentioned in the previous species. The specific epithet means “richly stratified”. Small-flowered inflorescences are formed by spectacular flowers, very harmoniously combining white and purple colors in their petals.
