Acampe, abbreviated as Acp in horticultural trade, is a genus of monopodial, epiphytic vandaceous species of orchids, distributed from tropical Asia from India, eastwards to China and southwards to Malaysia, and the Philippines as well as from tropical Africa, Madagascar and islands of the Indian Ocean. The name Acampe was derived from the Greek word akampas, meaning "rigid", referring to the small, brittle, inflexible flowers.
Acampe produce slow-growing, medium-sized vines that form very large vegetative masses in nature. They are noted for their thick, leathery, distichous leaves. They produce fragrant small to medium-sized yellow flowers, barred with orange or red stripes, in a few to many-flowered racemose inflorescence. The brittle sepals and petals look alike. The ear-shaped, fringed, white labellum (lip) is saccate (sac-shaped) or has a spur, and has red markings at its base. The fleshy column is short and has two waxy pollinia.Flora of China v 25 p 449, 脆兰属 cui lan shu, Acampe Lindley, Fol. Orchid. 4(Acampe): 1. 1853.
Due to their large size and small flowers, they are rarely cultivated.
Species Eight species are recognized as of May 2014:Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Acampe carinata (Griff.) Panigrahi - China, India, Assam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam Acampe cephalotes Lindl. - Assam, Bangladesh Acampe hulae Telepova - Laos, Cambodia Acampe joiceyana (J.J.Sm.) Seidenf. - Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam Acampe ochracea (Lindl.) Hochr. - Yunnan, Assam, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam Acampe pachyglossa Rchb.f. - Africa from Somalia to South Africa; Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles, Réunion, Aldabra Acampe praemorsa (Roxb.) Blatt. & McCann - India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar Acampe rigida (Buch.-Ham. ex Sm.) P.F.Hunt - China, India, Assam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Andaman Islands, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaya, Philippines
Acampe forms a few intergeneric hybrids : × Aracampe (Acampe × Arachnis) × Vancampe (Acampe × Vanda)
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