Pleione D. Don

Abstract

Pleione adapted to the temperate region by entering dormancy in winter. They are annuals. Sixteen species make up the genus which is distributed from eastern Himalaya to southern China, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. Plants are terrestrial, saxicolous or epiphytic, with small, ovoid pseudobulbs clustered on the rhizome. The last characteristic earned the genus its name, Pleione in Greek mythology being the mother of Pleiades who is represented by the cluster of seven stars in the autumn sky of the northern hemisphere. Leaves are one to two, apical, oval, curved, plicate and deciduous. Inflorescence is basal, erect, bearing one to two well-spread flowers in white or pink. The lip broadens towards its apex which is erose or dentate. Flowers appear before the leaves (Fig. Ple 88.1), or in the case of Pleione praecox, after the leaves have shed (Fig. Ple 88.2).