Ludisia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Orchidaceae
Subfamilia: Orchidoideae
Tribus: Cranichideae
Subtribus: Goodyerinae
Genus: Ludisia
Species:L. discolor

Name

Ludisia A.Rich. in J.B.G.Bory de Saint-Vincent, Dict. Class. Hist. Nat. 7: 437. (1825)

Lectotype: Ludisia discolor (Ker Gawler) A.Rich. (Goodyera discolor Ker Gawler) designated by Ormerod, Lindleyana, 17(4): 211 (2002)
monotypic taxon

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Haemaria Lindl., Orchid. Scelet.: 9. (1826)
Myoda Lindl., Edwards's Bot. Reg. 19: t. 1618. (1833)
Dicrophyla Raf., Fl. Tellur. 4: 39. (1838)

References

Richard, A. 1825. Dictionnaire classique d'histoire naturelle 7: 437.
Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.W. & Rasmussen, F.N. (eds.) 2003. Genera Orchidacearum Volume 3: Orchidoideae (Part two); page 116 ff., Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850711-9
'eFloras 2009. Ludisia in Flora of China vol. 25 Orchidaceae --> pdf Ludisia
Govaerts, R. et al. 2012. Ludisia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2012 Aug. 5. Reference page.
Emonocot.org 2013. Ludisia in The Orders and Families of Monocotyledons. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2013 Nov. 22.
Tropicos.org 2012. Ludisia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2012 Aug. 5.
International Plant Names Index. 2012. Ludisia. Published online. Accessed: 5. Aug. 2012.
The Plant List 2013. Ludisia in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2014 Apr. 26.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: China
China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan.
Continental: Asia-Tropical
Regional: Indo-China
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam.
Regional: Malesia
Borneo, Malaya, Philippines, Sumatera.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
Vernacular names

Ludisia (Lus.[2]) is a genus of orchids that was thought to contain just one species, Ludisia discolor, commonly referred to as jewel orchid. A second species, Ludisia ravanii, from the Philippines, was described in 2013.[3] Ludisia discolor is native to Southern China, Northeast India, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia,, Indonesia and Myanmar,[4] and often cultivated.

Description

They are terrestrial orchids that in their natural setting would be found growing on the forest floor. They are known for their foliage, which is often velvety deep maroon with red veins that run parallel to the centre of the leaf.

Flowers are white with twisting yellow columns. Individual flowers are small but grow in clusters on upright stalks. Flowers in cultivation last a month or more.[5]
Cultivation

They need high humidity and warm temperatures with low to medium light, and they tolerate extremely low light levels.
Cultivars

Ludisia discolor has two notable cultivars:

L. discolor 'Alba', an albino variant, and
L. discolor 'Nigrescens', a mutation often referred to as "black velvet".

Hybrids

Hybrids of Ludisia with other orchid genera are placed in the following nothogenera:

Dossisia[6] (Dsi.) = Ludisia × Dossinia
Goodisia[7] (Gda.) = Ludisia × Goodyera
Ludochilus[8] (Lud.) = Ludisia × Anoectochilus
Macodisia[9] (Mcd.) = Ludisia × Macodes

Note that these hybrids are with other genera in the subtribe Goodyerinae, all commonly referred to as jewel orchids.

(The given references are to registered primary hybrids within each given nothogenus.)
References

"The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
Alphabetical List of Standard Abbreviations for Natural and Hybrid Generic Names, Royal Horticultural Society, https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/plant-registration-forms/orchid-name-abbreviations-list.pdf
"Ludisia ravanii Cootes & G.Tiong | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science".
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Flora of China v 25 p 55, 血叶兰 xue ye lan, Ludisia discolor (Ker Gawler) Blume, Coll. Orchid. 113. 1859.
"The International Orchid Register / RHS Gardening".
"The International Orchid Register / RHS Gardening".
"The International Orchid Register / RHS Gardening".
"The International Orchid Register / RHS Gardening".