"Aa"

[Angurek]

I was browsing the orchids species website, and I came across this genus. I can't help but wonder what the genus name means (did the taxonomist who named this genus get lazy and stick two A's together to get a name?)

I'm guessing these guys are fly-pollinated? It would be pretty cool to see them in situ.

http://www.orchidspecies.com/aapaleacea.htm

http://www.orchidspecies.com/aaargyloepsis.htm

http://www.orchidspecies.com/aacolombiana.htm

http://www.orchidspecies.com/aasp.htm

[lambelkip]

the name doesn't mean anything, but it was not a matter of being lazy, Reichenbach made up the name in order to make sure it would always be first in the list. I'm not sure what polinates them.

what's the plant in your avatar?

[RosieC]

Cool, not come across that one before.

[Angurek]

Originally Posted by lambelkip

the name doesn't mean anything, but it was not a matter of being lazy, Reichenbach made up the name in order to make sure it would always be first in the list. I'm not sure what polinates them.

what's the plant in your avatar?

I always thought the name had some sort of special meaning, referring to the phenotype of the plant or alluding to an individual who discovered it. Still, it's interesting to find out that it was merely used as a placeholder.

The orchid in my avatar is a Pescatorea lehmannii. It's one of my all-time favorite orchids.

[PaphMadMan]

It has also been suggested that the genus was named for Pieter van der Aa, a Dutch publisher and printer of maps, atlases and botanical texts.

[Louis_W]

I found this one growing in the Andes of Ecuador at about 12 or 13000 ft. They are extreem little plants and quite common on roadcuts in the higher altitudes. They naturally grow from the cushin plants which cover the ground under the tussock grasses. If you google ¨Plantago rigida¨it will give you a good idea of the habitat. P. rigida is a cool mound forming cushin plant which lives all over the high Andes. I didnt do my homework to find out what species it is but it is definitly an Aa.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Louis_W

I found this one growing in the Andes of Ecuador at about 12 or 13000 ft. They are extreem little plants and quite common on roadcuts in the higher altitudes. They naturally grow from the cushin plants which cover the ground under the tussock grasses. If you google ¨Plantago rigida¨it will give you a good idea of the habitat. P. rigida is a cool mound forming cushin plant which lives all over the high Andes. I didnt do my homework to find out what species it is but it is definitly an Aa.

That's soooo cool!

It's awesome that this species is documented a bit more specifically (whichever species it is). Not much is known about this genera of orchids, nor is it in cultivation [for good reason if it comes from 12,000 ft - 13,000 ft (about 4,000 m)].

Thank you.

[Louis_W]

I did a google search and found that supposedly the highest altitude orchid is at about 12000. Thats nonsense, I have found at lest three genus above that line in the Andes alone. They highest of which was Myresmodes at about 14-15000ft. I was surprised to find that one and must be even less known than the Aa, because I only found two photos on a google search and both are my own. Ill post them when I can.

Sorry to Hijack!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

What were some of the other genera?

[Fishballs]

At 12,000 feet all he could get out was "A"