Lycaste
In-game article clicks load inline without leaving the challenge.
Lycaste, abbreviated as Lyc. in horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids that contains about 30 species with egg-shaped pseudobulbs and thin, plicate (pleated) leaves.
Description
Lycaste flowers, like all orchid blooms, have three petals and three sepals. The petals are typically yellow, white, or orange, and the sepals are yellow, orange, green, or reddish brown. The petals and sepals may be marked sparsely or densely with red, reddish purple, purple, or reddish brown spots. The lip (ventral petal) may be very similar to the other two petals, as in Lycaste aromatica or Lycaste brevispatha, or colored quite distinctively, as in several subspecies and varieties of Lycaste macrophylla. Most Lycaste flowers are medium in size, averaging about 5 to 10cm, but Lycaste schilleriana is 16–18cm across. Some Lycaste blooms have a unique fragrance - the scent of Lycaste aromatica has been variously described as cinnamon or clove. The blooms of the species Lycaste cochleata, Lycaste consobrina, and Lycaste cruenta also have a pleasant scent.
Taxonomy
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, is recognized by the American Orchid Society as the definitive authority on orchid taxonomy. The Checklist currently acknowledges 31 species of Lycaste, 3 natural hybrids, 2 subspecies (and 1 nominate subspecies), and 1 variety. Orchid growers and orchid collectors, who tend to be taxonomic splitters more often than lumpers, recognize additional subspecies and varieties of Lycaste, as well as alba (white) forms of several species.
Sections
The Lycastes are divided into four sections and two subsections:
- Section Deciduosae - deciduous, that is, they usually lose their leaves during an annual dormant period Subsection Xanthanthae - have yellow to orange blooms; the name comes from xantho (yellow) and anthos (flower) Subsection Paradeciduosae - have pink-marked white blooms; the name comes from para (similar or near) and deciduosae (deciduous)
- Section Longisepalae - has very long sepals
- Section Macrophyllae - keep their leaves during dormancy; the name comes from macro (large) and phyllae (leaves)
- Section Fimbriatae - typically have fringed lips
All but two of the Deciduosae have spines at the apices of their pseudobulbs, that become exposed when the leaves are dropped. The exceptions are the Xanthanthae species Lycaste lasioglossa and the Paradeciduosae species Lycaste tricolor. Both of these species lack spines, and may bloom when leaves are still present.
List of species by section
As of March2026[update], Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:
| Section | Image | Name | Distribution | Elevation (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section Deciduosae | Lycaste aromatica (Graham ex Hooker) Lindley 1843 | Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador | 500–2,000 metres (1,600–6,600ft) | |
| Lycaste bermudezii (Archila) J.M.H.Shaw 2014 | Guatemala | |||
| Lycaste bradeorum Schltr. 1923 | Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica | 700–1,250 metres (2,300–4,100ft) | ||
| Lycaste campbelli C. Schweinf. 1949 | Colombia (Choco, Antioquia) | |||
| Lycaste chaconii (Archila) J.M.H.Shaw 2014 | Guatemala | |||
| Lycaste cochleata Lindl. & Paxton 1850-1 | Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua | |||
| Lycaste consobrina Rchb.f 1852 | Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua | 200–1,000 metres (660–3,280ft) | ||
| Lycaste crinita Lindl. 1844 | Mexico (Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacan, Guerrero, and Oaxaca ) | 300–1,700 metres (980–5,580ft) | ||
| Lycaste cruenta Lindl. 1843 | Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador | 1,800–2,200 metres (5,900–7,200ft) | ||
| Lycaste deppei (Lodd.)Lindley 1843 | Mexico (Tamaulipas, Puebla, Vera Cruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas), Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua | 1,100–1,700 metres (3,600–5,600ft) | ||
| Lycaste lasioglossa Rchb. f. 1872 | Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras | 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900ft) | ||
| Lycaste macrobulbon Lindl. 1850-1 | Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil | 1,200–2,000 metres (3,900–6,600ft) | ||
| Lycaste angelae Oakley 2008 | Costa Rica, Panama | 1,000–1,700 metres (3,300–5,600ft) | ||
| Lycaste brevispatha (Klotzsch) Lindl. & Paxton 1852 | Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama | 800–1,800 metres (2,600–5,900ft) | ||
| Lycaste luminosa Oakley 1991 | Central America | |||
| Lycaste suaveolens Summerh. 1931 | Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua | 600–1,800 metres (2,000–5,900ft) | ||
| Lycaste tricolor Rchb. f. 1863 | Costa Rica, Panama | 600–1,000 metres (2,000–3,300ft) | ||
| Section Lycaste | Lycaste annakamilae Archila, Szlachetko & Chiron 2015 | Guatemala (Purulha, Baja Verapaz,) | 1,200 metres (3,900ft) | |
| Lycaste bruncana Bogarín 2007 | Costa Rica, Panama | 100–400 metres (330–1,310ft) | ||
| Lycaste dowiana Endr. & Rchb.f. 1874 | Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama | 700–1,400 metres (2,300–4,600ft) | ||
| Lycaste fuscina Oakeley 2008 | Venezuela, Ecuador | |||
| Lycaste guatemalensis Archila 1999 | Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador | 1,000–1,700 metres (3,300–5,600ft) | ||
| Lycaste leucantha (Klotsch) Lindl. 1851 | Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama | 600–2,000 metres (2,000–6,600ft) | ||
| Lycaste macrophylla (Poepp. & Endl.) Lindl. 1842 | Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela | 400–2,400 metres (1,300–7,900ft) | ||
| Lycaste measuresiana (B.S.Williams) Oakeley 2007 | Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela | 1,100–1,600 metres (3,600–5,200ft) | ||
| Lycaste occulta Oakeley 2007 | Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador | 2,600 metres (8,500ft) | ||
| Lycaste panamanensis (Fowlie) Archila 2002 publ. 2008 | Colombia, Costa Rica, Panamá | 1,000 metres (3,300ft) | ||
| Lycaste powellii Schltr. 1922 | Panama, Colombia | 50–800 metres (160–2,620ft) | ||
| Lycaste puntarenasensis (Fowlie) Oakeley 2007 | Costa Rica, Panama | 1,000 metres (3,300ft) | ||
| Lycaste sebastianii Archila 2011 | Guatemala (Alta Verapaz ) | 600–700 metres (2,000–2,300ft) | ||
| Lycaste viridescens (Oakeley) Oakeley 2007 | Peru | |||
| Lycaste virginalis Scheidw.) Linden 1888 | Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador | 1,200–1,800 metres (3,900–5,900ft) | ||
| Lycaste xanthocheila (Fowlie) Archila 2002 publ. 2008 | Guatemala, Costa Rica | 800 metres (2,600ft) | ||
| Lycaste xytriophora Linden & Rchb. f. 1872 | Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia (El Choco) and Ecuador | 600–1,800 metres (2,000–5,900ft) | ||
| Lycaste zacapana Archila 2010 | Guatemala (Alta Verapaz ) | 350–400 metres (1,150–1,310ft) |
Natural hybrids
- Lycaste × groganii (Lycaste aromatica × Lycaste deppei)
- Lycaste × michelii (Lycaste cochleata × Lycaste lasioglossa)
- Lycaste × smeeana (Lycaste deppei × Lycaste skinneri)
Hybrids
- Angulocaste (Anguloa × Lycaste)
- Cochlecaste (Cochleanthes × Lycaste)
- Colaste (Colax × Lycaste)
- Lycasteria (Bifrenaria × Lycaste)
- Lycida (Ida × Lycaste)
- Maxillacaste (Lycaste × Maxillaria)
- Zygocaste (Lycaste × Zygopetalum)
A 2002 revision of the Lycaste genus moved many species of the section Fimbriatae to a new genus, Ida. The 34 species of Ida occur in South America and the Caribbean Islands (Ida barringtoniae), while true Lycastes occur mostly in Mexico and Central America. The genus Ida is recognized by the World Checklist of Monocotyledons.
- WCSP (2011), , Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, search for "Lycaste"
- Fowlie, J. A., 1970: The Genus Lycaste; privately printed
- Dr. Henry F. Oakeley, 1993: Lycaste Species: The Essential Guide
- Dr. Henry F. Oakeley, 2008: Lycaste, Ida and Anguloa: The Essential Guide
- A.F.W. (Fred) Alcorn and Michael S. Hallett, 1993. Lycaste orchids: cultivation and hybridisation
External links
- Media related toLycasteat Wikimedia Commons
- Data related toLycasteat Wikispecies