Aerides

Read about Aerides in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Aerides (Greek, air-plant). Orchidaceae. Epiphytic hothouse orchids. Stems leafy, without pseudobulbs: lvs. distichous, coriaceous or fleshy, the persistent sheaths covering the St.: fls. borne in simple or compound lateral clusters; sepals about equal, spreading, the dorsal broader than the lateral; petals similar to the dorsal sepal; lip erect. or bent in, attached to the foot of the column, spurred at the base, the spur hollow; pollinia 2.—Species about 30, distributed from Malay Archipelago to India, E. Asia and Japan. Nearly all the species of this genus are from the East Indies and therefore require the warmhouse treatment, with a minimum of 65° F. in winter. As they have no pseudobulbs, but an erect, evergreen stem, they must never be allowed to become perfectly dry. Ample drainage of charcoal and broken pots is very essential, with a surfacing of moss, preferably sphagnum, renewed each year, the usual peat fiber being omitted. The best-known species is A. odoratum and is often seen in collections flowering freely. A. Fieldingii is also an interesting plant, as the spikes grow to the length of 18 inches, are dense-flowered, and known as the "fox-brush orchid," the color being a beautiful rose-pink. A. Lawrenciae is another fine plant, from the Philippines but not yet common in gardens.— Propagation is effected only by cutting off the top of the plant and setting it down in another pot, and waiting for the other part to send out shoots. The roots are mostly aerial, and no attempt must be made to confine these to the pots. If the size pot used is large, it should be perforated at the sides to admit of a free circulation of air. (Orpet.) A. Micholitzii, Rolfe. A recently intro. species, allied to A. odoratum. Light rose-purple fls. and a rather short spur. Annam.—A. cylindricum, Lindl. Resembles A. vandarum in habit and foliage. Fls. about 1 1/2 in. across; the sepals and petals waxy white, sometimes tinged rose, the lip white, the side lobes purple-streaked, the middle lobe yellow with a crimson tip. India.—A. Duqueanei, Hort. Fls. white dotted with rose.—.A. Emericii, Reichb. Fls. 1 in. long, the sepals and petals white, amethyst-blotched at apex, the side lobes of Up purple-spotted, the middle lobe small, narrowly oblong, acute, amethyst; spur incurved.—A. Thibautianum, Reichb. Racemes longer than the lvs.: fls. rose with an amethyst lip; spur curved. Index. affine, 12. Godefroyanum, 12. purpurascens, 1. Amesianum, 5. Houlletianum, 9. quinqucvulnerum, 3. Augustianum, 10. japonicum, 17. radicosum, 16. Ballantineanum, 4. Larpenlae, 8. Roebelinii, 3. birmanicum, 1. Lawrenciae, 5. roseum, 12. Brookei, 15. Lawrenceanum, 5. rubrum, 16. cornutum, 1. Leanum, 6. Sanderae, 2. crassifolium, 11. Leonaei, 8. Sanderianum, 5. crispum, 15. Lindleyanum, 15. Savageanum, 7. cylindricum, 18. Lobbii, 12. Schroederi, 14. Dayanum, 2. maculosum, 14. suavissimum, 4. Ellisii, 2. majus, 1. vandarum, 18. expansum, 8. mitratum, 19. virens, 2. falcatum, 8. multiflorum, 12. Warneri, 15. Fieldingii, 13. odoratum, 1. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

? Fox Brush Orchid
Aerides falcatum
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Epidendroideae Tribe: Vandeae Subtribe: Sarcanthinae Genus: Aerides Lour., 1790
Species
See text.

Aerides or the Cat's-tail Orchid or the Fox Brush Orchid, is a genus belonging to the Orchid family (Orchidaceae) (subfamily Epidendroideae, tribe Vandeae, subtribe Sarcanthinae).

They occur mainly in Asia : the Indian subcontinent, Nepal, Southern China, SE Asia, the Philippines, New Guinea.

They form pendulous racemes with many fragrant, long-lasting, waxy flowers, in white, (rarely) yellow, purple or pink colors, with a forward facing spur, growing on stout many-leaved stems from the leaf axils.

The leaves grow distichously (in two vertical rows). The leaf margins are bilobed, while the apex is emarginate.

There are ligules. Morphologically, they are very similar to Vanda.

There are 25 monopodial epiphytic species in this genus, (with the exception of Aerides krabviensis, which is a lithophyte).

Species

• Aerides augustianum Rolfe (1889) (Philippines).
• Aerides crassifolium C.S.P.Parish ex Burb (1873) (Indo-China).
• Aerides crispum Lindl. (1833) (SW. India).
• Aerides emericii Rchb.f. (1882) (Andaman Is.)
• Aerides falcatum Lindl. & Paxton (1851) (Indo-China)
• Aerides flabellatum Rolfe ex Downie (1925) (China (S. Yunnan) to Indo-China)
• Aerides houlletianum Rchb.f. (1872) (Laos, Thailand, Vietnam).
• Aerides inflexum Teijsm. & Binn. (1862)(Borneo to Sulawesi).
• Aerides × jansonii Rolfe (1890) (Myanmar). (A. falcatum var. expansum × A. odoratum)
• Aerides jarckianum Schltr. (1915) (Philippines).
• Aerides krabiense Seidenf. (1972) (Pen. Thailand to Pen. Malaysia) - lithophyte
• Aerides lawrenciae Rchb.f. (1883) (Philippines).
• Aerides leeanum Rchb.f. (1881) (Philippines).
• Aerides macmorlandii B.S.Williams (1855) (India).
• Aerides maculosum Lindl. (1845) (SW. India).
• Aerides multiflorum Roxb. (1820) : multiflowered Aerides (Himalaya to Indo-China).
• Aerides odoratum Lour. (1790) (S. China to Trop. Asia).
• Aerides orthocentrum Hand.-Mazz. (1938) China (Yunnan).
• Aerides quinquevulnerum Lindl. (1833) : Orchid of the Sacred Sleep (Philippines, New Guinea).
• Aerides ringens (Lindl.) C.E.C.Fisch. in J.S.Gamble (1928) (S. India, Sri Lanka, Andaman Is).
• Aerides roebelenii Rchb.f. (1884) (Philippines).
• Aerides roseum Lodd. ex Lindl. & Paxton (1850) (E. Himalaya to S. China and Indo-China).

Aerides odoratum

• Aerides savageanum Sanderex H.J.Veitch (1891) (Philippines).
• Aerides shibatianum Boxall ex Náves in F.M.Blanco (1880) (Philippines).
• Aerides sukauensis Shim (2004) (Sabah, Borneo)
• Aerides thibautianum Rchb.f. (1866) (Java, Sulawesi).
• Aerides timoranum Miq. (1859) (Lesser Sunda Is, Timor).