.gif)
Leptotes (orchid)
Encyclopedia
Leptotes, abbreviated Lpt in horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids formed by nine small species that grow in the dry jungle
s of south and southeast Brazil
, and also in Paraguay
or Argentina
. They are small epiphytic plants of caespitous growth that sometimes resemble little Brassavola
, as they share the same type of thin terete leaves, though they are more closely related to Loefgrenianthus
.
Some species of Leptotes are widely cultivated and form showy displays when completely in bloom although they are not among the easiest to grow. The majority of the species are not cultivated and some are so rare to be almost unknown; five of the nine species have been described since 2000. Besides being cultivated for their ornamental value, there are records of the flowers and fruits of Leptotes bicolor
being used as a substitute for vanilla
in milk
, ice cream
, tea
and candies
.
The species of Leptotes were originally discovered in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil and are always seen living epiphytically
. Two species have since been found in other countries, L. unicolor in Argentina, and L. bicolor in Paraguay. Three species show a high degree of endemism in the south of Bahia State. The states of southeastern Brazil can be considered the center of its distribution since they host the highest number of species and the Leptotes are most abundant there, however, the range is from the Serra da Jibóia chain of mountains, in Bahia, to the North of Rio Grande do Sul State.
The species in the group that are characterized by wide open flowers, such as Leptotes tenuis and L. pauloensis, are more frequently found in montane
cloud forests. L. bicolor has the broadest range and can survive in both the cloud forests and the dryer woods on the plateaus of the Serra do Mar
chain of mountains. Leptotes unicolor grows optimally in cooler areas, above 700 meters of altitude, and is frequently found growing on Araucaria
and Podocarpus
trees in the southern areas of Brazil.
Species assigned to the genus Leptotes have a short cylindrical rhizome
. They have small pseudobulb
s that almost imperceptibly prolongate in one, rarely two, terete fleshy leaves. They have variable characteristics and can be short or long, erect or hanging, dark green or purple, and often have a wrinkly surface and a deeper ridge in the face. The inflorescence
is apical, generally short, and grows from the apex of the pseudobulb without a protecting spathe and bears up to seven flowers, although fewer are more common. The flower
s are relatively large when compared to the overall plant dimensions, normally partially bent and in some species forming groups with a very showy aspect. They are fragrant and this perfume can last from ten to twenty days.
The appearance of the petal
s and sepal
s is similar, both are elongated although the petals are slightly more narrow. Flower colors are generally greenish, white or variable shades of pink and the labellum
(a special petal attractive to pollinator
s) can be spotted in pale yellow, light purple or lilac. The labellum is located along the column and trilobed (three lobes). The lateral lobes are small and raised beside the column, although never involving it. The intermediate lobe is much bigger and quite variable between species. They can have either lanceolate or obovate shape, occasionally be fleshy, flat or bending backwards; in some species they have denticulated edges but are smooth in others. Rarely, calli
are present, with claws holding them attached to the sides of the column. The column is short, thick and erect, normally greenish, biauriculated, and bears six pollinia of different sizes, two larger in the center and four smaller in two pairs held by a short caudicle in an arrangement that is unique among orchids. Their fruit
s are rounded, succulent and have a perfume reminiscent of Vanilla
.
The agent for the pollination
of Leptotes has never been observed. Cássio van den Berg postulates, judging from the colors and morphology of the flowers, that bees are the primary agent, while other orchidologists suspect pollination by hummingbird
s is more important.
As the roots of Leptotes rot easily with excessive humidity
, the best results for their culture are achieved when they are mounted on plaques of vegetal fiber or tree cork. Watering and fertilizer
must be more frequent during active growth periods and less during dormant periods. Ideal growth conditions require an intermediate temperature and exposure to filtered sunlight.
.jpg)
In April 1833, an unknown species from the Serra dos Órgãos
mountains of Brazil blossomed in the greenhouse of Mrs. Arnold Harrison, an English collector of orchids homaged in diverse descriptions of noted species such as Bifrenaria harrisoniae
and Cattleya harrisoniana
. A short time later, Mrs. Harrison sent a drawing and cutting of this plant to the botanist John Lindley
, who verified it to be not only a new species but a new genus. In its description, dated the same year, Lindley suggests the name of Leptotes, from the Greek
λεπτότητα for mild, delicate, in reference to the appearance of the plant's flowers. He affirmed that Leptotes was similar to Tetramicra
, from which it is distinguished by the structures of the pollinarium and by the smaller lateral lobes of the lip petal; and because they have no calcar attached to the ovarium. He also differentiated it from Brassavola by the pollinia and trilobed lip. Lindley then described its type-species, Leptotes bicolor
.
In 1838, Lindley received two similar but distinct plants, collected in Macaé de Cima and Ilha Grande
, in Rio de Janeiro
. He considered them different to the previously described species, because the lateral lobes of the lip were slightly serrated, their flowers were bigger and they occasionally had a second leaf by the pseudobulb; he proposed a new species with the name of Leptotes serrulata. Five years later, the German Count Johann Centurius von Hoffmannsegg noticed that one plant he cultivated had a different green-bluish tone to its leaves and he described the plant calling it L. glaucophylla. When reviewing all the known species of Leptotes at the time, in 1990, Carl Withner revisited the drawings published by Lindley and identified additional differences between L. bicolor and L. serrulata, describing how the latter always bears more flowers, with up to seven per inflorescence, which is also much longer. Today it is accepted, however, that both descriptions are variations of L. bicolor that coexist due to its wide dispersion and multiplicity of populations.
In 1865, Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach
received, from an unknown locality in Brazil, the second described species to be accepted today. The plant was quite different from Leptotes bicolor, because of its fewer and smaller rounded flowers, with wide open pale yellowish segments and he published it as L. tenuis. Twelve years later, the third species, Leptotes unicolor, was described by Brazilian botanist João Barbosa Rodrigues
. His account described a highly fragrant little species of orchid and he found some colonies with hundreds of plants living epiphytically along the banks of the Dourado and Sapucai rivers, nearby the city of Alfenas
, in Minas Gerais
. In 1881, Barbosa Rodrigues found another species, this one with longer leaves and slight differences in floral structure, and named it as L. paranaensis after Paraná State where he first found the plant, although today the location near Joinville
is located in Santa Catarina
. Today this species is considered to be just a variation of L. unicolor, the species he had described four years earlier.
Robert Allen Rolfe
received from Brazil, also without information of locality, a plant similar to the Leptotes tenuis species described by Reichenbach over 20 years earlier. Rolfe described it as L. minuta and noted it had much thicker and shorter leaves. This new species was included in Célestin Alfred Cogniaux's revision of Brazilian orchid species, published 1903, but in doing so he was unaware of the variability within the Leptotes species. At the time Cogniaux published his book he had not had the opportunity to check the types of all the other species then described, therefore, he accepted most of them with this remark. In retrospect, it is now more clear that the variation in leaves was due to both the isolation of various populations and because of the different growth conditions in each habitat, and today L. minuta is known as a variation of L. tenuis.
While living in Brazil, the Danish Botanist Johan Albert Constantin Loefgren received an Orchid from Itatiaia
, Rio de Janeiro, with flowers reminiscent of the Leptotes, although its lip petal formed a pouch. He described it as Leptotes blanche-amesiae, also noting it had a pending habit and thin flat leaves. Later work on the genus by Frederico Carlos Hoehne led him to conclude that this species, despite being closely related to the Leptotes, would be better placed in another genus. He proposed the genus Loefgrenianthus
, in hommage to Loefgren. In 1934, Hoehne also described a new species, Leptotes pauloensis, naming it so because it was found in São Paulo State. This species is closely related to Leptotes tenuis but its flowers have different colors. For decades taxonomists were divided on whether this should be considered a new species, partly due to the fact it was so rare, indeed, Guido Pabst considered it a synonym of L. tenuis. Recently many new colonies have been discovered and Withner now proposes that L. pauloensis should be accepted as a separate species.
Consequently, as of 2004, four species of Leptotes were known, three sufficiently different to be well established species, L. bicolor, L. unicolor and L. tenuis, and one, L. pauloensis, that was becoming more frequently accepted by taxonomists.
A recent explosion of descriptions has more than doubled the size of this genus, however, the history of these discoveries starts much earlier. In 1954, one of the associates of Círculo Paulista de Orquidófilos, an orchid society in São Paulo, presented a lecture where he talked informally about the innumerable varieties of Leptotes that he had collected throughout the years. This lecture was printed and distributed in the bulletin of the association. In 2004, Eric Christenson identified at least two of the several varieties mentioned in the lecture to be existing in collections throughout the United States
and decided to describe them formally as independent species. One of these plants, Leptotes harryphillipsii, is very similar to L. pauloensis already a problematic species by itself. The other one, L. mogyensis, is unknown to Brazilian scholars and collectors. The sole example is the plant Christenson found in the US, supposedly originated from Mogi das Cruzes
, a city nearby São Paulo.
Two other new species described in 2004 belong to the affinity of Leptotes bicolor and were both found by the same surveyor in the region of Buerarema
, south of Bahia
. Leptotes bohnkiana, named after its finder, can be differentiated because it has a significantly smaller stature, the other, L. pohlitinocoi, mostly by color.
Finally, in 2006 Sidney Marçal de Oliveira discovered the last species to be described, also from Bahia, although an inhabitant of Chapada Diamantina
too. This new species, Leptotes vellozicola, is quite distinct from the other species.
According to Cássio van den Berg et al., who studied their phylogeny, Leptotes is very closely related to Loefgrenianthus
and both situated between Pseudolaelia
and the genus which once used to be classified as Schomburgkia
, by some now considered part of Laelia
.
The three main characteristics that differentiate between the species of Leptotes are the general proportions of the leaves, the shape of the flowers, and the way the flowers open. From these, the species can be classified into two main groups.
One group is formed by the four species with flowers of elongated segments, which generally are not widely open. These species present malleable inflorescences that leave the flowers slightly or very overthrown, frequently facing down. Almost all the species of this group have long leaves, of comparatively lighter tones, generally with smooth surfaces, that are longer than the inflorescences.
The other group is formed by five smaller species that have more rounded flowers with petals and sepals that are wide open and flatter. The leaves are shorter wrinkly leaves, generally very dark green or purple colored. The species of this group often have only one or two flowers on each inflorescence. Four of them are very similar and sometimes difficult to distinguish.
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
s of south and southeast Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and also in Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
or Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. They are small epiphytic plants of caespitous growth that sometimes resemble little Brassavola
Brassavola
Brassavola is a genus of 20 orchids . They were named in 1813 by the Scottish botanist Robert Brown. The name comes from the Venetian nobleman and physician Antonio Musa Brassavola. This genus is abbreviated B. in trade journals....
, as they share the same type of thin terete leaves, though they are more closely related to Loefgrenianthus
Loefgrenianthus
Loefgrenianthus blanche-amesiae is a showy orchid species, inhabitant of Serra do Mar mountains in Brazilian southeast. It is the only species of the monotypic genus Loefgrenianthus. It can be differentiated from its closest genus, Leptotes, both because of its pending vegetation with flat leaves...
.
Some species of Leptotes are widely cultivated and form showy displays when completely in bloom although they are not among the easiest to grow. The majority of the species are not cultivated and some are so rare to be almost unknown; five of the nine species have been described since 2000. Besides being cultivated for their ornamental value, there are records of the flowers and fruits of Leptotes bicolor
Leptotes bicolor
Leptotes bicolor is a species of orchid native to Paraguay and southern Brazil. It is the type species of the genus Leptotes.Its flowers and fruits are used as a substitute for vanilla in milk and ice cream....
being used as a substitute for vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
in milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
, ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
, tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
and candies
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
.
Distribution
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
. Two species have since been found in other countries, L. unicolor in Argentina, and L. bicolor in Paraguay. Three species show a high degree of endemism in the south of Bahia State. The states of southeastern Brazil can be considered the center of its distribution since they host the highest number of species and the Leptotes are most abundant there, however, the range is from the Serra da Jibóia chain of mountains, in Bahia, to the North of Rio Grande do Sul State.
The species in the group that are characterized by wide open flowers, such as Leptotes tenuis and L. pauloensis, are more frequently found in montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
cloud forests. L. bicolor has the broadest range and can survive in both the cloud forests and the dryer woods on the plateaus of the Serra do Mar
Serra do Mar
Serra do Mar is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil, which runs in parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state of Espírito Santo to southern Santa Catarina, although some include Serra Geral in the Serra do Mar, in which case this range...
chain of mountains. Leptotes unicolor grows optimally in cooler areas, above 700 meters of altitude, and is frequently found growing on Araucaria
Araucaria
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 extant species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil.-Description:Araucaria are mainly...
and Podocarpus
Podocarpus
Podocarpus is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. The 105 species of Podocarpus are evergreen shrubs or trees from 1-25 m in height...
trees in the southern areas of Brazil.
Description
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
. They have small pseudobulb
Pseudobulb
The pseudobulb is a storage organ derived from the part of a stem between two leaf nodes.It applies to the orchid family , specifically certain groups of epiphytic orchids, and may be single or composed of several internodes with evergreen or deciduous leaves along its length.In some species, it is...
s that almost imperceptibly prolongate in one, rarely two, terete fleshy leaves. They have variable characteristics and can be short or long, erect or hanging, dark green or purple, and often have a wrinkly surface and a deeper ridge in the face. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is apical, generally short, and grows from the apex of the pseudobulb without a protecting spathe and bears up to seven flowers, although fewer are more common. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are relatively large when compared to the overall plant dimensions, normally partially bent and in some species forming groups with a very showy aspect. They are fragrant and this perfume can last from ten to twenty days.
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s and sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s is similar, both are elongated although the petals are slightly more narrow. Flower colors are generally greenish, white or variable shades of pink and the labellum
Labellum
Labellum is the Latin diminutive of labium, meaning lip. These are anatomical terms used descriptively in biology, for example in Entomology and botany.-Botany:...
(a special petal attractive to pollinator
Pollinator
A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain...
s) can be spotted in pale yellow, light purple or lilac. The labellum is located along the column and trilobed (three lobes). The lateral lobes are small and raised beside the column, although never involving it. The intermediate lobe is much bigger and quite variable between species. They can have either lanceolate or obovate shape, occasionally be fleshy, flat or bending backwards; in some species they have denticulated edges but are smooth in others. Rarely, calli
Callus
A callus is an especially toughened area of skin which has become relatively thick and hard in response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Rubbing that is too frequent or forceful will cause blisters rather than allow calluses to form. Since repeated contact is required, calluses...
are present, with claws holding them attached to the sides of the column. The column is short, thick and erect, normally greenish, biauriculated, and bears six pollinia of different sizes, two larger in the center and four smaller in two pairs held by a short caudicle in an arrangement that is unique among orchids. Their fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s are rounded, succulent and have a perfume reminiscent of Vanilla
Vanilla (orchid)
Vanilla, the vanilla orchids, form a flowering plant genus of about 110 species in the orchid family . The most widely known member is the Flat-leaved Vanilla , from which commercial vanilla flavoring is derived. It is the only orchid widely used for industrial purposes...
.
The agent for the pollination
Pollination
Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...
of Leptotes has never been observed. Cássio van den Berg postulates, judging from the colors and morphology of the flowers, that bees are the primary agent, while other orchidologists suspect pollination by hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
s is more important.
As the roots of Leptotes rot easily with excessive humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
, the best results for their culture are achieved when they are mounted on plaques of vegetal fiber or tree cork. Watering and fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
must be more frequent during active growth periods and less during dormant periods. Ideal growth conditions require an intermediate temperature and exposure to filtered sunlight.
Taxonomic notes
Serra dos Órgãos
Serra dos Órgãos is a mountain range in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was turned into a national park in 1939. It is located about a one-hour drive from the city of Rio de Janeiro....
mountains of Brazil blossomed in the greenhouse of Mrs. Arnold Harrison, an English collector of orchids homaged in diverse descriptions of noted species such as Bifrenaria harrisoniae
Bifrenaria harrisoniae
Bifrenaria harrisoniae is a species of orchid.-Synonyms:chronological:alphabetical:...
and Cattleya harrisoniana
Cattleya harrisoniana
Cattleya harrisoniana is a bifoliate Cattleya species of orchid. The diploid chromosome number of C. harrisoniana has been determined as 2n = 40. The haploid chromosome number of C. harrisoniana has been determined as n = 20.-Footnotes and external links:A...
. A short time later, Mrs. Harrison sent a drawing and cutting of this plant to the botanist John Lindley
John Lindley
John Lindley FRS was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.-Early years:Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley was a nurseryman and pomologist and ran a commercial nursery garden...
, who verified it to be not only a new species but a new genus. In its description, dated the same year, Lindley suggests the name of Leptotes, from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
λεπτότητα for mild, delicate, in reference to the appearance of the plant's flowers. He affirmed that Leptotes was similar to Tetramicra
Tetramicra
Tetramicra is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae.- References :*Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.A. & Rasmussen, F. eds. . Genera Orchidacearum 1. Oxford Univ. Press....
, from which it is distinguished by the structures of the pollinarium and by the smaller lateral lobes of the lip petal; and because they have no calcar attached to the ovarium. He also differentiated it from Brassavola by the pollinia and trilobed lip. Lindley then described its type-species, Leptotes bicolor
Leptotes bicolor
Leptotes bicolor is a species of orchid native to Paraguay and southern Brazil. It is the type species of the genus Leptotes.Its flowers and fruits are used as a substitute for vanilla in milk and ice cream....
.
In 1838, Lindley received two similar but distinct plants, collected in Macaé de Cima and Ilha Grande
Ilha Grande
Ilha Grande is an island located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and part of the municipality of Angra dos Reis. The island is largely undeveloped and noted for its scenic beauty, which includes tropical beaches, luxuriant vegetation and a rugged landscape. The land area is...
, in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. He considered them different to the previously described species, because the lateral lobes of the lip were slightly serrated, their flowers were bigger and they occasionally had a second leaf by the pseudobulb; he proposed a new species with the name of Leptotes serrulata. Five years later, the German Count Johann Centurius von Hoffmannsegg noticed that one plant he cultivated had a different green-bluish tone to its leaves and he described the plant calling it L. glaucophylla. When reviewing all the known species of Leptotes at the time, in 1990, Carl Withner revisited the drawings published by Lindley and identified additional differences between L. bicolor and L. serrulata, describing how the latter always bears more flowers, with up to seven per inflorescence, which is also much longer. Today it is accepted, however, that both descriptions are variations of L. bicolor that coexist due to its wide dispersion and multiplicity of populations.
In 1865, Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach
Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach
Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach was an ornithologist, botanist and the foremost German orchidologist of the 19th century...
received, from an unknown locality in Brazil, the second described species to be accepted today. The plant was quite different from Leptotes bicolor, because of its fewer and smaller rounded flowers, with wide open pale yellowish segments and he published it as L. tenuis. Twelve years later, the third species, Leptotes unicolor, was described by Brazilian botanist João Barbosa Rodrigues
João Barbosa Rodrigues
João Barbosa Rodrigues was a Brazilian botanist and engineer.He was born in São Gonçalo do Sapucaí and raised in Campanha, in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. He returned to Rio de Janeiro with his family in 1858. He first dedicated to the commerce, but he was always interested in natural...
. His account described a highly fragrant little species of orchid and he found some colonies with hundreds of plants living epiphytically along the banks of the Dourado and Sapucai rivers, nearby the city of Alfenas
Alfenas
Alfenas is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais state. In 2007 its population was 71,628 and the area of the municipality is 849 km2. The elevation is 888m. It is served by highways MG 179, BR 491 and BR 369. The distance to the state capital...
, in Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
. In 1881, Barbosa Rodrigues found another species, this one with longer leaves and slight differences in floral structure, and named it as L. paranaensis after Paraná State where he first found the plant, although today the location near Joinville
Joinville
Joinville is a city in Santa Catarina State, in the Southern Region of Brazil. Joinville is Santa Catarina's largest city. In 2010, its population has reached approximately 520,000, many of whom are of German descent....
is located in Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
. Today this species is considered to be just a variation of L. unicolor, the species he had described four years earlier.
Robert Allen Rolfe
Robert Allen Rolfe
Robert Allen Rolfe was a British botanist specializing in the study of orchids. He was the first curator of the orchid herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, founded the magazine The Orchid Review,and published many papers on hybrids of different species of orchids.The genus Allenrolfea of...
received from Brazil, also without information of locality, a plant similar to the Leptotes tenuis species described by Reichenbach over 20 years earlier. Rolfe described it as L. minuta and noted it had much thicker and shorter leaves. This new species was included in Célestin Alfred Cogniaux's revision of Brazilian orchid species, published 1903, but in doing so he was unaware of the variability within the Leptotes species. At the time Cogniaux published his book he had not had the opportunity to check the types of all the other species then described, therefore, he accepted most of them with this remark. In retrospect, it is now more clear that the variation in leaves was due to both the isolation of various populations and because of the different growth conditions in each habitat, and today L. minuta is known as a variation of L. tenuis.
Itatiaia
Itatiaia is a Brazilian municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is located at an altitude of 390 meters. Its population was 30,168 and its area is 224.96 km²....
, Rio de Janeiro, with flowers reminiscent of the Leptotes, although its lip petal formed a pouch. He described it as Leptotes blanche-amesiae, also noting it had a pending habit and thin flat leaves. Later work on the genus by Frederico Carlos Hoehne led him to conclude that this species, despite being closely related to the Leptotes, would be better placed in another genus. He proposed the genus Loefgrenianthus
Loefgrenianthus
Loefgrenianthus blanche-amesiae is a showy orchid species, inhabitant of Serra do Mar mountains in Brazilian southeast. It is the only species of the monotypic genus Loefgrenianthus. It can be differentiated from its closest genus, Leptotes, both because of its pending vegetation with flat leaves...
, in hommage to Loefgren. In 1934, Hoehne also described a new species, Leptotes pauloensis, naming it so because it was found in São Paulo State. This species is closely related to Leptotes tenuis but its flowers have different colors. For decades taxonomists were divided on whether this should be considered a new species, partly due to the fact it was so rare, indeed, Guido Pabst considered it a synonym of L. tenuis. Recently many new colonies have been discovered and Withner now proposes that L. pauloensis should be accepted as a separate species.
Consequently, as of 2004, four species of Leptotes were known, three sufficiently different to be well established species, L. bicolor, L. unicolor and L. tenuis, and one, L. pauloensis, that was becoming more frequently accepted by taxonomists.
A recent explosion of descriptions has more than doubled the size of this genus, however, the history of these discoveries starts much earlier. In 1954, one of the associates of Círculo Paulista de Orquidófilos, an orchid society in São Paulo, presented a lecture where he talked informally about the innumerable varieties of Leptotes that he had collected throughout the years. This lecture was printed and distributed in the bulletin of the association. In 2004, Eric Christenson identified at least two of the several varieties mentioned in the lecture to be existing in collections throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and decided to describe them formally as independent species. One of these plants, Leptotes harryphillipsii, is very similar to L. pauloensis already a problematic species by itself. The other one, L. mogyensis, is unknown to Brazilian scholars and collectors. The sole example is the plant Christenson found in the US, supposedly originated from Mogi das Cruzes
Mogi das Cruzes
Mogi das Cruzes is a municipality in the state of São Paulo metropolitan region of the state capital. The population in 2010 according to the Census population is 387,241 inhabitants, resulting in a population density of 533.90 inhabitants per km ²....
, a city nearby São Paulo.
Two other new species described in 2004 belong to the affinity of Leptotes bicolor and were both found by the same surveyor in the region of Buerarema
Buerarema
Buerarema is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil. Your mayor is Mardes Lima Monteiro de Almeida, M.D.-References:...
, south of Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
. Leptotes bohnkiana, named after its finder, can be differentiated because it has a significantly smaller stature, the other, L. pohlitinocoi, mostly by color.
Finally, in 2006 Sidney Marçal de Oliveira discovered the last species to be described, also from Bahia, although an inhabitant of Chapada Diamantina
Chapada Diamantina
Chapada Diamantina is a region of Bahia state, in the Northeast of Brazil.The Chapada Diamantina has a dramatic landscape with high plains, table-top mesas, and steep cliffs or towers known as 'tepuy.' Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 19th century, the only local inhabitants of the...
too. This new species, Leptotes vellozicola, is quite distinct from the other species.
According to Cássio van den Berg et al., who studied their phylogeny, Leptotes is very closely related to Loefgrenianthus
Loefgrenianthus
Loefgrenianthus blanche-amesiae is a showy orchid species, inhabitant of Serra do Mar mountains in Brazilian southeast. It is the only species of the monotypic genus Loefgrenianthus. It can be differentiated from its closest genus, Leptotes, both because of its pending vegetation with flat leaves...
and both situated between Pseudolaelia
Pseudolaelia
Pseudolaelia is a small genus belonging to the orchid family . The abbreviation used in the horticultural trade is Pdla.- Description :...
and the genus which once used to be classified as Schomburgkia
Schomburgkia
Schomburgkia is a genus of plants belonging to the family Orchidaceae. This genus is named for Richard Schomburgk, a German botanist who explored British Guiana during the 19th century. Species in this genus are either ephiphytic or lithophytic in their growth habit...
, by some now considered part of Laelia
Laelia
Laelia, abbreviated L. in the horticultural trade, is a small genus of 25 species from the orchid family . This is one of the most important and popular orchid genera, because of the beautiful flowers, their genetic properties and because they are fairly easy in culture. It is probably named after...
.
Species
One group is formed by the four species with flowers of elongated segments, which generally are not widely open. These species present malleable inflorescences that leave the flowers slightly or very overthrown, frequently facing down. Almost all the species of this group have long leaves, of comparatively lighter tones, generally with smooth surfaces, that are longer than the inflorescences.
- Leptotes unicolorLeptotes unicolorLeptotes unicolor is a species of orchid native to Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay....
is the exception in this group, as it has short, wrinkly and dark leaves. Its flowers, of generally uniform pale pink, always face down. The other species of this group have flowers of stronger colors. - Leptotes bicolorLeptotes bicolorLeptotes bicolor is a species of orchid native to Paraguay and southern Brazil. It is the type species of the genus Leptotes.Its flowers and fruits are used as a substitute for vanilla in milk and ice cream....
is the species with more flowers per inflorescence and with a wider distribution. It is a variable species, even though it is easily identified because of its bicolored flowers, white sepals and petals and purple lip; occasionally it will bear two leaves per pseudobulb. There are some records of this species living as a lithophyteLithophyteLithophytes are a type of plant that grows in or on rocks. Lithophytes feed off moss, nutrients in rain water, litter, and even their own dead tissue....
. - Leptotes bohnkianaLeptotes bohnkianaLeptotes bohnkiana is a species of orchid endemic to Brazil ....
has some similarities to L. bicolor, however, its flowers are one third of the size, with petals and sepals that are proportionally wider, and the adult plant is about half the size. It bares a single flower per inflorescence and has only been found in Bahia. - Leptotes pohlitinocoiLeptotes pohlitinocoiLeptotes pohlitinocoi is a species of orchid endemic to Brazil ....
is closer to L. bicolor but has slightly smaller flowers with all segments completely pink. It only exists in Bahia.
The other group is formed by five smaller species that have more rounded flowers with petals and sepals that are wide open and flatter. The leaves are shorter wrinkly leaves, generally very dark green or purple colored. The species of this group often have only one or two flowers on each inflorescence. Four of them are very similar and sometimes difficult to distinguish.
- Leptotes vellozicolaLeptotes vellozicolaLeptotes vellozicola is a species of orchid endemic to Brazil .-External links:*...
is the only easily recognizable species in this group as it has a thick central callus next to the apex of the lip petal. It is the only species of this group endemic to Bahia, the other species are from southeast and south Brazil. This species, among all Leptotes, takes the most sunlight in the wild because it is epiphytic on Vellozia, a species with very few leaves. The region where it lives is much dryer compared to the areas inhabited by the other species. - Leptotes tenuisLeptotes tenuisLeptotes tenuis is a species of orchid endemic to Brazil....
is the only Leptotes species with pale green, yellowish or white flowers and lilac colored lip. It is a very small and uncommon species from southeastern Brazil. - Leptotes pauloensisLeptotes pauloensisLeptotes pauloensis is a species of orchid endemic to São Paulo....
is a species very similar to L. tenuis and can be separated from it mainly by the opposite distribution of color between the lip and the other sepals and petals, namely, pale lilac petals and sepals and white lip with a yellowish cream mark in the middle. Its distribution overlaps L. tenuis but extends much more into the south. - Leptotes harryphillipsiiLeptotes harryphillipsiiLeptotes harryphillipsii is a species of orchid endemic to southeastern Brazil....
, another species similar to L. tenuis, but with a slightly longer lip and discrete pink stripes on the other petals and sepals, which typically have more vibrant colors. It seems this species has been known for long time but had always been confused with L. pauloensis. - Leptotes mogyensisLeptotes mogyensisLeptotes mogyensis is a species of orchid endemic to southeastern Brazil....
, yet another species related to the L. tenuis group and also resembles L. unicolor except it has white flowers with a deep purple central mark on the lip. There is no record of this plant in the wild. All information comes from a plant found under cultivation in a nursery in California, USA. It might be a rare natural hybrid of the two mentioned species.