Stanhopea

Stanhopea is a genus of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) from Central and South America. The abbreviation used in horticultural trade is Stan. The genus is named for Philip Henry Stanhope, 4th Earl Stanhope (1781–1855), who was the president of the Medico-Botanical Society of London in 1829–1837. It comprises 55 species and 5 natural hybrids. The orchids in the genus are mostly epiphytic (growing on other plants), but occasionally terrestrial. They can be found in damp forests from Mexico to Trinidad to northwestern Argentina. Their ovate pseudobulbs carry from the top one long, plicate, elliptic leaf.

Stanhopea is noted for its complex and usually fragrant flowers that are generally spectacular and short-lived. Their pendant inflorescences are noted for flowering out of the bottom of the containers in which they grow, lending themselves to culture in baskets that have enough open space for the inflorescence to push through. They are sometimes called upside-down orchids.

The majority of species are robust plants that grow readily in cultivation. For relatives of Stanhopea see Stanhopeinae and the closely related sister subtribe Coeliopsidinae.