Catasetum imperiale L. Linden & Cogn. 1895

Side View Of Flower Photo courtesy of David Jubineau and His Bulbophyllum Pages Copyright ©

Female Flower Photo by Lourens Grobler

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Common Name The Large Flowered Catasetum

Flower Size 4" [10 cm]

Found in Venezuela and Peru? at elevations of 1100 to 2100 meters as a cool to warm growing epiphyte with fusiform, slightly compressed pseudobulbs carrying to 10 dark green, plicate, elliptic-lanceolate, leaves that blooms on a basal, 14" [35 cm] long, ascending and then pendant, racemose, several [8] flowered inflorescence arising in the late spring on a partially developed pseudobulb. Once thought to be a variety of Catasetum pileatum but has now been given species status, it could possibly be a natural hybrid between C pileatum and C macrocarpum but it has not been reproduced artificially as yet.

Synonyms Catasetum bungerothii var imperiale [Linden $ Cogn.] Cogn. 1897; Catasetum pileatum Rchb. f. var imperiale Hoehne 1942

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The World Of Catasetum Holtz 1999

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