Lycaste, abbreviated as Lyc. in horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids that contains about 30 species with egg-shaped pseudobulbs and thin, plicate (pleated) leaves.
Description
Lycasteflowers, like all orchid blooms, have three petals and three sepals. The petals are typically yellow, white, or orange, and the sepals are yellow, orange, green, or reddish brown. The petals and sepals may be marked sparsely or densely with red, reddish purple, purple, or reddish brown spots. The lip (ventral petal) may be very similar to the other two petals, as in Lycaste aromatica or Lycaste brevispatha, or colored quite distinctively, as in several subspecies and varieties of Lycaste macrophylla. Most Lycaste flowers are medium in size, averaging about 5 to 10 cm, but Lycaste schilleriana is 16–18 cm across. Some Lycaste blooms have a unique fragrance - the scent of Lycaste aromatica has been variously described as cinnamon or clove. The blooms of the species Lycaste cochleata, Lycaste consobrina, and Lycaste cruenta also have a pleasant scent.
Taxonomy
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, is recognized by the American Orchid Society as the definitive authority on orchid taxonomy. The Checklist currently acknowledges 31 species of Lycaste, 3 natural hybrids, 2 subspecies (and 1 nominate subspecies), and 1 variety. Orchid growers and orchid collectors, who tend to be taxonomic splitters more often than lumpers, recognize additional subspecies and varieties of Lycaste, as well as alba (white) forms of several species.
Sections
The Lycastes are divided into four sections and two subsections:
Section Deciduosae - deciduous, that is, they usually lose their leaves during an annual dormant period
Subsection Xanthanthae - have yellow to orange blooms; the name comes from xantho (yellow) and anthos (flower)
Subsection Paradeciduosae - have pink-marked white blooms; the name comes from para (similar or near) and deciduosae (deciduous)
Section Longisepalae - has very long sepals
Section Macrophyllae - keep their leaves during dormancy; the name comes from macro (large) and phyllae (leaves)
Section Fimbriatae - typically have fringed lips
All but two of the Deciduosae have spines at the apices of their pseudobulbs, that become exposed when the leaves are dropped. The exceptions are the Xanthanthae species Lycaste lasioglossa and the Paradeciduosae species Lycaste tricolor. Both of these species lack spines, and may bloom when leaves are still present.
A 2002 revision of the Lycaste genus moved many species of the section Fimbriatae to a new genus, Ida. The 34 species of Ida occur in South America and the Caribbean Islands (Ida barringtoniae), while true Lycastes occur mostly in Mexico and Central America. The genus Ida is recognized by the World Checklist of Monocotyledons.
