Psychopsis
Encyclopedia
Psychopsis, abbreviated Psychp in horticultural trade, is a genus
of only four species of orchids distributed from the West Indies and Costa Rica to Peru, where it grows on the trunks and branches of trees. It used to be contained in the massively paraphyletic "wastebin genus
" Oncidium
. The monotypic
Psychopsiella
is closely related to and sometimes merged with Psychopsis.
The genus as a whole is commonly called butterfly orchids, but some species of other orchid genera are also called thus
. The Psychopsis flower looks like a large butterfly with a brightly-colored body (the lip, a modified petal), very long antennae-like petals, and outspread wing-like dappled yellow and brown sepals. The butterfly orchid is rumored to have started the European "Orchidmania" of the 19th century.
In the narrow sense, Psychopsis consists of 4 species:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of only four species of orchids distributed from the West Indies and Costa Rica to Peru, where it grows on the trunks and branches of trees. It used to be contained in the massively paraphyletic "wastebin genus
Wastebin taxon
Wastebasket taxon is a term used in some taxonomic circles to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined by their lack of one or more distinct character states or by their not belonging to one or more other taxa...
" Oncidium
Oncidium
Oncidium, abbreviated as Onc. in the horticultural trade, is a genus that contains about 330 species of orchids from the subtribe Oncidiinae of the orchid family . This is a complex, difficult genus, with many species being reclassified...
. The monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
Psychopsiella
Psychopsiella
Psychopsiella 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....
is closely related to and sometimes merged with Psychopsis.
The genus as a whole is commonly called butterfly orchids, but some species of other orchid genera are also called thus
Butterfly Orchid
Butterfly orchid may refer to:* Psychopsis, any species* Sarcochilus, several species* Anacamptis papilionacea * Encyclia tampensis* Epidendrum venosum* Habenaria psycodes* Oncidium papilio...
. The Psychopsis flower looks like a large butterfly with a brightly-colored body (the lip, a modified petal), very long antennae-like petals, and outspread wing-like dappled yellow and brown sepals. The butterfly orchid is rumored to have started the European "Orchidmania" of the 19th century.
In the narrow sense, Psychopsis consists of 4 species:
- Psychopsis krameriana
- Psychopsis papilio
- Psychopsis sanderae
- Psychopsis versteegiana