Orchid Information - Genus Pholidota section Crinonia

Genus Pholidota section Crinonia (Blume) Butzin, Willdenowia 7 (1974) 258

Synonyms:

• Crinonia Blume, Bijdr. 7 (1825) 338
• Coelogyne sect. Crinonia (Blume) Rchb.f., Walp . Ann . 6 (1861) 236

Type species: not designated (lecto: Pholidota carnea, chosen by De Vogel, 1988)

Pendulous or exceptionally creeping epiphytes, occasionally lithophytes, entirely glabrous except for root hairs. Attaching roots only present on the basal portion of the rhizome, usually sparsely branched; aerial roots in the upper part of the rhizome absent or present, usually not branched, either or not appressed to the rhizome. Rhizome pendulous, rather short to rather long, sometimes branched, the parts between the pseudobulbs short to rather long. Scales enclosing the rhizome 4-7, in the older rhizome parts appressed to the rhizome, long persistent, somewhat different and smaller than the 2 long persistent, later disintegrating upper scales which more or less enclose the pseudobulb. Pseudobulbs rather close together to distinctly spaced, more or less spirally arranged along the rhizome, long persistent, rather swollen to slender. Leaves 2 per pseudobulb, small to rather large; blade ovate-oblong to linear, herbaceous to coriaceous, many-nerved, main nerves 3-7. Raceme proteranthous to synanthous with the almost entirely developed young leaves, or heteranthous, few- to many-flowered; flowers opening more or less simultaneously; peduncle short to long, wiry, usually enlarging after anthesis; rachis more or less pendulous, short to long, about straight to more or less zig-zag; sterile bracts rarely present; floral bracts persistent or caducous, either or not folded along the midrib, reniform to ovate-oblong, pergamentaceous or herbaceous. Flowers neatly distichous, rather closed to opening wide, not resupinate but lip more or less turned downwards. Pedicel about straight, terete to angular. Ovary more or less angular due to the ribs. Median sepal concave, ovate to ovate-oblong, with a pronounced midrib, not keeled . Lateral sepals rather shallowly to deeply concave, midrib with a pronounced rounded keel which is sometimes towards the tip wing-like. Petals usually slightly asymmetric, ovate, obovate to ovate-oblong, sometimes with erose margin. Lip rather narrowly inserted on the short column foot, faintly sigmoid to about straight; hypochile boat­ shaped, especially in the back rather shallowly concave, lateral margins more or less erect, often lobe-like, rarely at the back with 3 faint keels; epichile more or less recurved, entire, margins more or less turned upwards, towards the base with 2 distinct calli, in one species without calli. Column with a more or less distinct small column foot, short, in one case relatively long; hood rather reduced to rather pronounced, either consisting of a more or less band-like median lobe and two more or less triangular lateral lobes (rarely the lateral lobes are absent), or in one species spathulate in outline with decurrent margins; anther inserted on top of the band-like central part of the column, in one species about halfway the top margin of the hood and the stigma, irregularly cordate, orbicular, transversely elliptic to reniform in outline; pollinia about pear-shaped, sometimes more or less flattened; stigma more or less obliquely cup-shaped; rostellum broad, band-like. Fruit (only of P. carnea and P. protracta seen) obovoid to ellipsoid, in section more or less 3-angular, on top the perianth or at least the column persistent; ribs 6, the 3 jugae flat, band-like, the 3 valvae each with a longitudinal low keel; seeds shortly fusiform, embryo ellipsoid.
(After De Vogel 1988)

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