Vappodes
Encyclopedia
Vappodes is a genus
of orchids from Indonesia
, New Guinea
and Australia
.
in 2002. This name change is followed in Jones (2006) Jones and Clements (2008). Vappodes bigibba is accepted as the correct name for Dendrobium bigibbum in the Australian Plant Census and by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
and New Guinea
.
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 orchids from Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Taxonomy
Vappodes was separated from DendrobiumDendrobium
Dendrobium is a huge genus of orchids. It was established by Olof Swartz in 1799 and today contains about 1,200 species. The genus occurs in diverse habitats throughout much of south, east and southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Borneo, Australia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands and New Zealand...
in 2002. This name change is followed in Jones (2006) Jones and Clements (2008). Vappodes bigibba is accepted as the correct name for Dendrobium bigibbum in the Australian Plant Census and by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
- "The genus was recently segregated from Dendrobium, based on hard cylindrical pseudobulbPseudobulbThe 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 leafy in the upper third, multi-flowered racemeRacemeA raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s arising from the upper nodes and flowers with very broad petals and the labellumLabellumLabellum is the Latin diminutive of labium, meaning lip. These are anatomical terms used descriptively in biology, for example in Entomology and botany.-Botany:...
firmly fixed to the column foot."
Distribution
There are about 8 species in the genus, with 4 endemic in Australia (V. bigibba, dicupha, lithocola, and phalaenopsis), with the rest found in IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
.
Cultivation
Relatively easy to cultivate but need a warm, bright place with fairly high humidity. Can be grown in small pots or on hard slabs. Need lots of water while growing, but should be kept dry while dormant. Minimum temperature 12—15°C.Species included in the genus
- Vappodes bigibba (Lindl. & Paxton) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones sensu CHAH (2005). Mauve Butterfly Orchid.
- Vappodes dicupha. White Butterfly Orchid.
- Vappodes lithocola (D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones sensu CHAH (2005). Dwarf Butterfly Orchid.
- Vappodes phalaenopsis (Fitzg.) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones sensu CHAH (2005). Cooktown Orchid.
External links
- http://www.naturespowerhouse.com.au/lr_orchids3.htmNature's Powerhouse website contains a gallery of Lewis Roberts' botanical illustrations including the Cooktown OrchidCooktown orchidThe Cooktown Orchid , has been the floral emblem of Queensland since 19 November 1959. It was first described in 1880 as Dendrobium phalaenopsis, then included in Dendrobium bigibbum,...
] - The "Australian Orchid Name Index" and "Australian Orchidaceae - Current Genera and Species Checklist" may be downloaded here as pdf files