Medusa orchid
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Bulbophyllum
Species:
B. medusae
Binomial name
Bulbophyllum medusae
Synonyms[1]
  • Cirrhopetalum medusae Lindl.
  • Phyllorkis medusae (Lindl.) Kuntze
  • Cirrhopetalum medusae var. album Rolfe

Bulbophyllum medusae, commonly known as the Medusa orchid, is a species of epiphytic orchid with a creeping rhizome and a single leaf about 100 mm (3.9 in) long emerging from the top of each pseudobulb. The flowers are creamy yellow and arranged in clusters of about fifteen arranged in a circle at the tip of the flowering stem. The flowers have an unpleasant odour. The flowers have thread-like lateral sepals about 120 mm (4.7 in) long, giving each cluster the appearance of Medusa.[2]

The Medusa orchid was first formally described in 1861 by John Lindley who gave it the name Cirrhopetalum medusae and published the description in Edwards's Botanical Register.[3][4] In 1861, Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach changed the name to Bulbophyllum medusae.[1]

Bulbophyllum medusae grows on the trunk and main branches of trees in forest at altitudes up to 400 m (1,300 ft) in Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, the Lesser Sunda Islands and Sumatra.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bulbophyllum medusae". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. 1 2 "Bulbophyllum medusae". Singapore Government National Parks Board. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  3. ↑ "Cirrhopetalum medusae". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  4. ↑ Lindley, John (1842). "Cirrhopetalum medusae". Edwards's Botanical Register. 28: 12. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
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