Scuticaria

Scuticaria
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Epidendroideae Tribe: Cymbidieae Subtribe: Maxillariinae Genus: Scuticaria Lindl. 1843
Type species
Maxillaria steelei Hook. 1837
Species
S. hadwenii (Lindl.) Planch. 1852 S. irwiniana Pabst 1973 S. itirapinensis Pabst 1973 S. kautskyi Pabst 1972 S. novaesii F.Barros & Cath. 1982 S. peruviana D.E.Benn. & Christenson 2002 S. salesiana Dressler 1968 S. steelei (Hook.) Lindl. 1843 S. strictifolia Hoehne 1947
Synonyms
None

Scuticaria is a genus of orchid family formed by nine species of showy flowers and long cylindrical leaves. They are epiphytic, occasionally lithophytic or terrestrial, terrestres, that grow pending and are cespitously or reptant and ascending, which exist is three isolated areas of South America, in Ecuador, Amazon Foresta and Serra do Mar and Serra da Mantiqueira mountains, in Brazil, both in shady and sunny places.

The genus Scuticaria has been traditionally placed close to Maxillaria but recent research shows they are more closely related to the genus Bifrenaria. Despite their interesting appearance, the are hardly seen in nature and, because they culture is complicated, they are not common in private collections and orchid shows either. No other use for these species is reported besides ornamentation. Because it is a well established genus, formed by few species that are reasonably easy to separate, there were few publications about them during the last decades.