Eulophia

Orchids in the genus Eulophia are mostly terrestrial herbs with either an underground rhizome or pseudobulbs on the surface. The only two epiphytic species occur on Madagascar. Many species have no leaves, but when leaves are present they are long and narrow, sometimes pleated. The flowers are borne on a flowering stem which sometimes appears before the leaves with a few to many flowers. The flowers in some species are small but others have large, showy flowers in a wide range of colours. The sepals are usually larger than the petals but the labellum has three lobes and a spur or pouch at its base.[2][3][4][5][6]

The genus Eulophia was first formally described by John Lindley in 1821 and the description was published in The Botanical Register. Because Robert Brown had previously used the name Eulophia in describing Lissochilus speciosus, and the name of that species was changed to Eulophia speciosa, Brown is the accepted author of the name. "Eulophia" is derived from the Ancient Greek words eu meaning "good", "well" or "true"[7]^:373 and lophos meaning "mane", "crest", "comb", "tuft" or "ridge",[7]^:238 possibly referring to the labellum callus of some species.[5]

Orchids in the genus Eulophia are distributed in shady rainforests or in open scrub or woodland in the tropics and subtropics of Africa, India, Asia, Queensland, and the Americas, although most are found in Africa. Many can survive the dry season through their large bulbous ‘corms’. Some species, such as Eulophia petersii, have adapted to very arid environments and are among the few orchids to have truly evolved desert living species.

In the frost-free, semi-arid areas of Southern California, many Eulophia species, such as E. macra, E. petersii, E. plantaginea, and E. speciosa, can be grown outdoors year-round in well-drained pots with cactus/succulent potting mix (although E. speciosa prefers being grown in pure white sand), as long as they are given ample light through the winter and a drier winter resting period. Warmer growers, such as E. pulchra and possibly even the extremely rare and difficult E. cucullata (the foxglove orchid), can probably be grown outdoors in the warmer south areas of Florida and Hawaii, also. The generally large, underground, fleshy rhizome indicates a sympodial growth habit, and this makes Eulophias fairly easy to divide and propagate, provided the grower is gentle.

• Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). "Eulophia". African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.

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