A genus of small, delicate orchids native to East Asia, often grown in gardens and used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Scientific Latin diminutive of 'bletia' (the larger tropical orchid genus), using the suffix '-illa' meaning 'small.' Shows how scientists use naming to show relationships between plant groups.
Bletilla is literally 'little bletia,' and these small Asian orchids have been part of Chinese medicine for centuries—they're called 'baiyajing' and are ground into powder for healing. Western scientists named them to show they were relatives of the larger tropical Bletia!
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