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Anota

Category: Articles
Date Posted: 2006-03-26

Two species which are frequently confused by Philippine orchid collectors and fanciers are Anota violacea (Saccolabium violaceum) and Rhynchostylis retusa. The plants of these species, as well as their "bottle brush" shaped racemes of white and violet spotted flowers, are similar and, when not in flower, it is extremely difficult to distinguish them. Both species were at one time included in the genus Saccolabium; however, when Dr. Schlechter studied this large heterogeneous group, he arrived at the conclusion that it should be divided into a number of separate and distinct genera to take care of some of the species, which did not agree entirely with the concept of Saccolabium.

Anota violacea was one of a group of plants to be separated. In the genus Anota, there is no foot to the column whereas such an appendage is present in Rhynchostylis, Vanda and Saccolabium. There are only about four species of the genus distributed throughout the Malaysian Archipelago, and only the one described below is native to the Philippines.

A. violacea is a Vanda-like plant with fleshy close-set, striated leaves that are a dark yellow-green, lined with a lighter shade of yellow-green. The flowering raceme, which is loosely arranged with white and violet-spotted flowers, is thicker, shorter and not as compactly arranged as Rhynchostylis retusa. The flowers of A. violacea are fragrant and about three quarters of an inch across; the labellum has a middle lobe, which is horizontal and not curved upward as in the R. retusa, and the spur is shorter. The lateral sepals do not grow down on the column, but are free. The lobe of the lip is lined with amethyst. Another important distinguishing characteristic is that Anota violacea flowers during January and February while Rhynchostylis retusa flowers during July and September.

The generic name Anota is derived from the Greek, meaning "without an ear" or "naked," apparently in reference to the column which has no appendages or "ears," while the specific name, violacea, probably refers to the violet color of the flower.