The genus Anguloa was founded in 1794 by Ruiz and Pavon in honour of Francisco de Angulo, a Peruvian orchid collector at the time. It comprises nine species and 4 natural hybrids, all of which occur in South and Central America. The plants can grow very large and mostly grow terrestrially on the ground or lithophytically on rocks. They are also frequently found on river banks, but only rarely as epiphytes in cloud forest at altitudes of 1500 to 2500 metres. The distribution extends from Venezuela through Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to Bolivia. The flowers are relatively large and do not open completely, which is why they are sometimes called tulip orchids.
The pseudobulbs can grow over 15 inches tall and the leaves of a well-grown plant can reach a leaf length of over a metre. This easy-to-care-for genus is terrestrial and the plant sheds its leaves at the start of new growth each season. There are two basic groups of anguloas: white and yellow/red. The white Anguloas can produce up to six inflorescences per pseudobulb, the yellow/red ones up to twelve in late spring and early summer. The inflorescence stems are single-flowered. The flowers of all species are pleasantly and strongly scented.
The species are: brevilabris, cliftonii, clowesii, dubia, eburnea, hohenlohii, tognettiae, uniflora and virginalis. The four natural hybrids are: x acostae, x rolfei, x ruckeri, and x speciosa.
The genus Anguloa is closely related to the genus Lycaste, the hybrids from both genus are called Angulocaste and are characterised by large, long-lasting, waxy flowers. The hybrids are also very vigorous.