Elleanthus caravata (Aubl.) Rchb. f. 1878 Photo by © Eric Hunt and His Orchid Website
Flower Closeup Photos By Clarence J Gillig
LATE
EARLY
Common Name
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in The Windward Islands, French Guiana, Surinam, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in mossy primary wet forests at elevations around 200 to 1600 meters as a medium to large sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte with reed like, hairy stems carrying several, plicate and heavily pleated, hairy beneath, linear-lanceolate, basally clasping leaves and blooms in the late spring through early fall on an apical corymb and carry several to many flowers that open successively over a few days and are almost enveloped by the elongate, reddish purple floral bracts .
Synonyms Cymbidium hirsutum Willd. 1805; Elleanthus lepidus (Rchb. f.) Rchb. f. 1881; Epidendrum hirsutum (Willd.) Poir. 1810; Evelyna caravata (Aubl.) Lindl. 1861; Evelyna lepida Rchb. f. 1859; *Serapias caravata Aubl. 1775; Sobralia caravata (Aubl.) Lindl. 1833;
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909; Venezuelan Orchids Vol 5 Dunsterville & Garay 1966; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 1 1969; Flora of the Lesser Antilles Garay & Sweet 1974 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 7 1979 photo; Orchids of Venezuela ; An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing ok; The Orchids of Surinam Werkhoven 1986 photo hmm; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 446 Dodson 1989 drawing ok; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 drawing/photo ok; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003; Orchids of Bolivia Vol 2 Laelinae Vasquez and Ibisch 2004
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