Clowesia

Cymbidieae subtribe Catasetinae

Dedicated to Rev. Clowes, an early orchid grower in England.

A genus of six species found from Mexico to Venezuela. Previously included in a broadly defined Catasetum L. C. Richard, Clowesia differs by having bisexual flowers.

1 Flowers pink. C. rosea 1' Flowers green. 2 2(1') Lip notched at the apex, all lobules fringed-fimbriate. C. warscewiczii 2' Lip not notched at the apex, the lobules essentially entire. 3 3(2') Saccate-spur incurved, parallel to the lip midlobe. C. russelliana 3' Saccate-spur projected backwards, parallel to the ovary. 4 4(3') Lip apex broadly rounded; stipe of the pollinarium with a pair of small teeth. C. dodsoniana 4' Lip apex subacute; stipe of the pollinarium rounded, without teeth. C. thylaciochila

Aguirre, E. L. 1987. Clowesia dodsoniana: una nueva Clowesia de Mexico. Orquidea(Mex.) 10:191-200; Dodson, C. H. 1975. Dressleria and Clowesia: a new genus and an old one revived in the Catasetinae (Orchidaceae). Selbyana 1:130-137; Hills, H. G. and N. H. Williams 1990. Fragrance cycle of Clowesia rosea. Orquidea(Mex.) 12:19-22; Monnier, G. 1990. Current history of Catasetinae breeding, 2: Clowesia. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 59(11):1124-1128; Richardson, D. 1957. Catasetum roseum. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 26(10):706-707; Teuscher, H. 1977. Collector’s Item: Catasetum thylaciochilum. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 46(11):1007-1010; Warford, N. M. and B. Harrell 1996. Clowesia dodsoniana Aguirre L., its history, pollination, and osmophores. Orchid Digest 60(4):174-179.