Sophronitis

Sophronitis
Missing image Sophronitis-dayana.jpg Sophronitis dayana Sophronitis dayana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Epidendroideae Tribe: Epidendreae Template:Taxobox subtribus entry Genus: Sophronitis
Species
See text

Sophronitis Lindley 1828, is a genus of small, epiphytic or lithophytic orchids, growing in the damp montane forest of eastern Brazil, Paraguay and NE Argentine.

Sophronitis species are widely known for their red flowers, particularly Sophronitis coccinea.

They have short, ovoid, often densely clustered, pseudobulbs on the rhizome. From its top grows a single apical, erect, fleshy, gray green leaf.

The leaf gives rise to a terminal inflorescence with one to eight flowers. The scarlet to red orange flowers have similarly shaped sepals and petals.

The trilobed lip has lateral lobes that partially encircle the column. The smaller midlobe has a yellow disc and the spur is adnate to the ovary.

Some species are yellow, and almost all species have some shades of orange due to natural variation within the species.

They are used extensively in hybridization to influence the small size and the dark red color of the progeny, such as in the hybrid x Sophrolaeliocattleya (xSlc.) Sophronitis species are quite small, a characteristic that may be conferred to progeny such that they are more compact.

Species

Many of these species used to belong to the genus Laelia.

• Sophronitis acuensis : Acu Sophronitis (Brazil - Rio de Janeiro).
• Sophronitis alaorii : Alaori's Sophronitis (Brazil - Bahia).
• Sophronitis alvaroana (Brazil - Rio de Janeiro).
• Sophronitis angereri : Angerer's Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis bahiensis (Brazil - Bahia).
• Sophronitis bicolor (Brazil).
• Sophronitis blumenscheinii : Blumenschein's Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis bradei : Brade's Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis brevicaulis (Brazil).
• Sophronitis brevipedunculata : Short-stalked Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis briegeri (Brazil).
• Sophronitis caulescens : Caulescent Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis cernua : Nodding Sophronitis (Brazil to NE. Argentina).
  • Sophronitis cernua var. alagoensis (Brazil - Alagoas). Pseudobulb epiphyte
  • Sophronitis cernua var. cernua (Brazil to NE. Argentina). Pseudobulb epiphyte
• Sophronitis cinnabarina : Cinnabar Sophronitis (Brazil - S. Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro).
• Sophronitis coccinea : Scarlet Sophronitis (Brazil to Argentina - Misiones).
• Sophronitis crispa : Crisped Sophronitis (SE. Brazil)
• Sophronitis crispata : Cliff-dwelling Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis dayana : Day's Sophronitis (Brazil - S. Minas Gerais to Rio de Janeiro).

• Sophronitis duveenii (Brazil - Minas Gerais: Serra do Cipó).
• Sophronitis endsfeldzii : Endsfeldz's Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis esalqueana (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis fidelensis : Saint Fidel's Sophronitis (Brazil - Rio de Janeiro).
• Sophronitis fournieri : Fournier's Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais)
• Sophronitis ghillanyi : Ghilany's Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis gloedeniana : Gloeden's Sophronitis (Brazil - São Paulo).
• Sophronitis gracilis : Graceful Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais: Serra do Cipó).
• Sophronitis grandis : Grand Laelia (Brazil - SE. Bahia to N. Espírito Santo).
• Sophronitis harpophylla : Sickle-leaf Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais to Espírito Santo).
• Sophronitis hispidula (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis itambana (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis jongheana : Jonghe Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis kautskyi : Kautsky's Sophronitis (SE. Brazil)
• Sophronitis kettieana : Kettie's Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais)
• Sophronitis liliputana : Dwarf Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais: Serra do Ouro Branco).
• Sophronitis lobata : Lobed Sophronitis (SE. Brazil.
• Sophronitis longipes : Long-peduncled Sophronitis (SE. Brazil - Serra do Cipó).
• Sophronitis lundii : Lund's Sophronitis (Bolivia to Argentina - Misiones, Salta).
• Sophronitis mantiqueirae : Mantiqueira Sophronitis (SE. Brazil).
• Sophronitis milleri : Miller's Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).

• Sophronitis mixta (Brazil - Espírito Santo).
• Sophronitis munchowiana (Brazil - Espírito Santo).
• Sophronitis perrinii : Perrin's Sophronitis (SE. Brazil)
• Sophronitis pfisteri : Pfister's Sophronitis (Brazil - Bahia).
• Sophronitis praestans : Spectacular Sophronitis (SE. Brazil)
• Sophronitis pterocarpa (Brazil to Paraguay).
• Sophronitis pumila : Dwarf Sophronitis (SE. & S. Brazil)
• Sophronitis purpurata : Purple-stained Sophronitis (SE. & S. Brazil)
• Sophronitis pygmaea (Brazil - Espírito Santo).
• Sophronitis reginae : Regina's Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis sanguiloba : Red-lobed Sophronitis (Brazil – Bahia)
• Sophronitis sincorana : Sincora Sophronitis (Brazil - Bahia).
• Sophronitis tenebrosa : Dark Sophronitis (Brazil - SE. Bahia to Espírito Santo).
• Sophronitis tereticaulis : Twisted-stem Sophronitis (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis verboonenii (Brazil - Rio de Janeiro).
• Sophronitis virens : Green-flowered Sophronitis (SE. Brazil)
• Sophronitis wittigiana : Wittig's Sophronitis (Brazil - Espírito Santo).
• Sophronitis xanthina : Yellow Sophronitis (Brazil - Bahia to Espírito Santo).

Natural hybrids

• Sophronitis × carassana (S. lucasiana × S. mantiqueira) (Brazil)
• Sophronitis × cipoensis (S. crispata × S. ghillanyi) (Brazil - Minas Gerais).
• Sophronitis × espirito-santensis (S. pumila × S. xanthina) (SE. Brazil)
• Sophronitis × gerhard-santosii (S. harpophylla × S. kautskyana) (SE. Brazil).
• Sophronitis × lilacina (S. crispa × S. perrinii) (SE. Brazil).
• Sophronitis × mucugense (S. bahiensis × S. pfisteri) (Brazil - Bahia).
• Sophronitis × wyattiana (S. crispa × S. lobata) (SE. Brazil)
• Sophronitis × zaslawskii (S. harpophylla × S. praestans) (SE. Brazil)