"Peter O'Byrne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> spaketh thusly:
> Ed de Vogel established the genus Entomophobia in Orchid Monographs Vol 1
> (1986) while revising the Coelogyninae. His problem was Pholidota
> kinabaluensis Ames, a species from Mt Kinabalu (Sabah, North Borneo) which
> differed from all other Pholidota species in that the flowers appear
> designed to prevent insects from entering. Not only does the flower hardly
> open, but the lip is adnate to the column and the aperture at the front of
> the lip is narrow. If this wasn't enough to deter insects, the entrance to
> the lip is also blocked by a high callus.
What a great name for a genus.
I'm sure Peter will straighten me out on this, but TROPICOS notes that it was
published a little earlier by de Vogel in Blumea 30(1): 199 in 1984 ({Blumea ; BPH
200.15}). As noted before, I profess profound ignorance of taxonomy, so I don't know
the relevance (if there is any) of the timing.
It's great to know the origin of the name lies in the induction of claustrophobia in
insects. I had thought it might relate to insect assault upon contact, such as that
with schomburgkias.
Cheers,
-AJHicks
Chandler, AZ
_______________________________________________
the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://lists.orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids
