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Laelia pumila
Laelia pumila is the most widespread
and better known species of section Hadrolaelia,
a small group of six species. Laelia pumila
is very closely related to L. praestans
and L. dayana, forming with
them what is usually called the "pumila" group. Without flowers, the plants are absolutely impossible
to distinguish, and in this respect the species of the "pumila" group separates themselves from the other
three species of the section which can be easily identified by their plants. Laelia
pumila, like the other species of the section, produces very short plants
(usually they don't grow taller than 6") and large flowers in proportion. Like all the the other species in
the section, Laelia pumila produces
the inflorescences directly from inside the developing new leaf, thus not producing a flower sheath. In this respect,
the group is very similar to Sophronitis coccinea.
Flowers of Laelia pumila can
be up to more than 5" across, although they are usually just a bit more than 4". Flowers are usually
very flat, contrasting with those of Laelia dayana
(see April 2000
for a description and comparison), and have an uniform magenta color. The lip is white with a dark purple front
section which spreads to the side lobes and thus paint the whole opening of its tube, inside it, there are 3-7
flat, longitudinal keels that elevate at the opening of the tube. Laelia
pumila has been extensively used in hybridizing, mainly because it is
easy to grow and produces such colorful and large flowers. These features are quite dominant in its hybrids.
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Distribution Map for Laelia pumila. The species has the widest distribution range in the section Hadrolaelia.
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On 1,
we see on of these gallery forests where Laelia pumila is (or used to be) so common. This is the main habitat for the species from the surroundings
of Belo Horizonte, to the south, up north to Diamantina. This is basically the only type of humid forest that can
be found in the region, as most of the mountains around have very shallow soil and, as we go to the north, the
climate shown a progressively better marked dry season. Inside these narrow strips of forest, on the margins of
rivers, plants grow under fairly shady conditions and there is enough constant humidity throughout the year as
the plants need.
On 2, we see a close-up of a typical
flower of Laelia pumila. The color
is the norm for the species, and even the lighter mark at the front lobe is typical except for the very dark colored
individuals. Shape is good for a jungle plant; most remarkably, the petals do not "droop" much, as it
is common for the species.
On 3, there is a very dark individual
produced from seed, offspring of the well-known 'Black Diamond' individual. This seedling batch produced very dark
and well-shaped flowers. From 'BD', we have the very dark sepals and petals, lip with solid front color, and petals
that are a bit "droopy". The other parent, 'Rossi', improved on shape but lightened a bit the color.
On 4, we can see the typical shape
of a native Laelia pumila, but
in this case, the flower is of the coerulea
form (and thus we cane forgive the shape). Color is exceptionally dark, especially on the lip, something unusual
for coeruleas of the species. |
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