Is Chinese Ground Orchid a real orchid?

[Paul Mc]

I bought some because the flowers do look like orchids and they grow really well in my zone. The flowers don't last that long, but they are really pretty when in bloom.

But are they real terrestrial orchids or is this a gimmicky title based on the flower's appearance? Sorry, I don't know the scientific name for them as the grower did not disclose it. I also do not have a picture as they are just now starting to shoot up their flower stalks this year.

[ronaldhanko]

If it is Bletilla striata which often goes by that name then it is indeed a real orchid.

[Paul Mc]

It is Bletilla striata - I googled some images and that is exactly what I have! Well, I guess I will have to add them to my orchid listings, lol... So that means I now have about 50 or so orchids instead of 43!

[Vanda lover]

You can tell if a flower is an orchid by looking at the centre of the flower. If it is covered with a little cap like thing, it's an orchid.

[Cym Ladye]

It also will only have 5 "petals" (3 sepals (2 fused on a paph)+ 2 petals) and a lip/pouch which is the converted 6th petal found on most flowers. There are other more scientific differentiations but these, in addition to the column, are the easiest to explain.

CL

[Daethen]

Cym Layde, how does that explain Masdies?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Daethen

...how does that explain Masdies?

The flower parts you can see without a magnifying glass are the sepals.

Those long tails at the tip of the sepals are called sepaline tails.

The petals on most Masevallias are often not showy at all. They often times look nothing more than tiny colorful popsicle sticks (yeah, they're that relatively uninteresting compared to the sepals).

The labellum (lip) is also often very small on most Masdevallias.

[lambelkip]

the number of sepals and petals is fairly consistent, but not a defining characteristic of orchids. some orchids have 3 petals (see Thelymitra for an eample) Masdevallias (and Draculas) have the sepals fused at the base, and the petals severely reduced in size.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Bletilla striata still conforms to a flower form that looks very much like those orchids which have flowers that many people would readily recognize as an orchid (flowers resemble those of Cattleyas to some degree)...

3 sepals, 2 petals, 1 labellum (a modified petal), a column (fused male and female sex organs), inferior ovaries.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I think Cym Layde is describing a Cypripedium, more specifically alluding to Chinese Cypripediums.

They have the same basic characteristics:

3 sepals, 2 petals, 1 labellum (modified petal), column, inferior ovary.

However...

In a Cyp., the lateral sepals are completely fused together into what is called a synsepal.

Synsepals are also a very common characteristic amongst Acronia spp. (formerly Pleurothallis).

Cyps also have a labellum that has been modified into pouch.

Generally speaking, the difference between this group (which belong to the subfamily Cypripedioideae) and other group of orchids is that it has a column that doesn't resemble those of orchids that belong to the subfamily Epidendroideae.