Trevoria is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) native to southeastern Central America and northwestern South America. It was described by German botanist Friedrich Carl Lehmann in 1897, with the type species being Trevoria chloris.
Etymology The genus name honors Sir Trevor Lawrence (1831–1913), a British horticulturist and orchid specialist who maintained one of the finest orchid collections in England at his home, Burford Lodge in Surrey, and served as a former president of the Royal Horticultural Society.
Taxonomy and Classification Trevoria belongs to the subfamily Epidendroideae, tribe Cymbidieae, and subtribe Stanhopeinae within the orchid family. A heterotypic synonym for the genus is Endresiella Schltr. (1921).
Distribution and Habitat The genus is found from Nicaragua and Costa Rica south through Colombia and Ecuador to Bolivia. It grows in intermediate temperature conditions as an epiphytic orchid.
Species As of June 2014, five species are recognized:
- Trevoria chloris Lehm. – Colombia
- Trevoria escobariana Garay – Colombia, Ecuador
- Trevoria glumacea Garay – Costa Rica, Nicaragua
- Trevoria lehmannii Rolfe – Colombia, Ecuador
- Trevoria zahlbruckneriana (Schltr.) Garay – Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia
Morphology Trevoria species are epiphytic orchids with elongated-pyriform (pear-shaped) pseudobulbs that are not compressed, each bearing a single leaf. The leaves are large, rather leathery, folded, and contracted to a petiole. The inflorescence is a scape arising from the base of the pseudobulbs, simple, bearing a lax, few-flowered raceme. The flowers are large and fleshy, with sepals that are rather thick, free, and spreading. The lateral sepals are oblique and very large. The petals are fleshy, twisted, and conspicuously narrower than the sepals. The labellum (lip) is fleshy, concave, and erect, with erect, axe-shaped lateral lobes and a linear-hastate midlobe. The column is rather long, terete, and clavate or abruptly truncate at the apex.
Cultivation Notes Trevoria chloris flowers are noted to be extremely fragrant and open for only one day. In cultivation, the genus is sometimes grown on lava stone with regular watering and fertilization.
