Orchidaceae

Bletia

Kingdom: Plantae Rank: Genus Parent: Orchidaceae Status: Valid

Morphological Description

Diagnosis: Plants of Bletia inhabit disturbed, high light habitats such as roadsides and fully deforested hillsides that have converted to grasslands. They typically form colonies. Erect lanceolate leaves arise from corms. Erect long pedunculate racemes bear showy rose-magenta flowers with several open at a time.

1 Flowers campanulate, often self-pollinating; petals less
than 2 cm wide. ........................... B. campanulata
1’ Flowers opening flat, never self-pollinating; petals more
than 2 cm wide. ............................ B. catenulata

Vegetative Morphology

Habit: Terrestrials arising from subterranean corms.

Leaves: Leaves plicate, lanceolate, acuminate, subpetiolate with the bases forming a false stem.

Reproductive Morphology

Inflorescence: Inflorescences terminal racemes or panicles, erect to suberect-arching, the floral bracts inconspicuous.

Flowers: Flowers cupped, pink to reddish-purple. Sepals and petals free, spreading, usually subsimilar and subequal. Lip three-lobed, sessile, the lateral lobes erect, the midlobe usually with undulate margins, the callus of longitudinal, parallel, usually undulate keels. Column arching, club-shaped; pollinia 8, on minute caudicles.