Anguloa

The genus Anguloa Ruiz & Pav., 1794 is a classification of orchid in tribe Maxillarieae , subtribe Lycastinae .

Commonly known as the "Tulip Orchid," it is a close realative of the Lycastes . The genus was named after Francisco de Angulo, a Peruvian orchid lover.

This small genus of 11 species is found on the forest floor at high elevations from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador to Peru.

They are rather large terrestrial and sometimes epiphytic orchids with fleshy pseudobulbs longer than 20 cm. The long, lanceolate and plicate leaves of a full-grown Anguloa can be more than 1 m long. Two to four leaves grow from the base of each pseudobulb. The leaves are deciduous, and are shed at the start of each new growth.

The flowers of these orchids have a waxy appearance and come in two colors : greenish white and yellow to red. A single flower per inflorescence arises from the base of each new pseudobulb. The white Anguloas have six inflorescences per pseudobulb, the other can produce up to twelve inflorescences. The sepals have a bulbous shape, resembling a tulip. The lip is three-lobed. The column has four pollinia.

The flowers have a strong scent of cinnamon.

Species

• Anguloa brevilabris (Colombia).
• Anguloa cliftonii (Colombia).
• Anguloa clowesii : Tulip Orchid, Cradle Orchid (Colombia to NW. Venezuela).
• Anguloa dubia (Colombia).
• Anguloa goldschmidtiana (Colombia).
• Anguloa hohenlohii (Colombia to NW. Venezuela).
  • Anguloa hohenlohii var. hohenlohii (Colombia to NW. Venezuela) Pseudobulb epiphyte
  • Anguloa hohenlohii var. macroglossa (Colombia). Pseudobulb epiphyte
• Anguloa purpurea (Venezuela).
• Anguloa × ruckeri (A. clowesii × A. hohenlohii) (Colombia to Venezuela).
• Anguloa sagittata (Colombia).
• Anguloa tognettiae (Venezuela).
• Anguloa uniflora (Colombia to Peru). – type species
• Anguloa virginalis (W. South America to Venezuela).

Reference

Dr Henry F. Oakeley - Anguloa : The Species, the hybrids and a checklist of Angulocastes.