Elleanthus hymenophorus (Rchb.f.) Rchb.f. 1862 Photo courtesy of Patricia Harding

Common Name or Meaning The Membrane Bearing Elleanthus

Flower Size 1/5" [5 mm]

Found in SE Mexico to Peru in wet montane forests at elevations of 650 to 2000 meters as a medium to large sized, hot to cool growing terrestrial on steep grassy embankments or sometime epiphyte with simple stems that are enveloped by rugose leaf-sheaths and carrying 3 to several, chartaceous, plicate, elliptic-ovate, acuminate leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, 1 3/4" to 4 3/4" [4 to 12 cm] long, densely many flowered, racemose inflorescence.

Synonyms Elleanthus curtii Schltr. 1923; *Evelyna hymenophora Rchb.f. 1852

References W3 Tropicos [http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/vast.html] , Kew Monocot list [ http://www.kew.org/wcsp/home.do ], IPNI [ http://www.us.ipni.org/ipni/plantsearch?request_type=search&output_format=query&ret_defaults=on Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 669 Dodson 1982 as Elleanthus alberti; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 368 Dodson 1982 as Elleanthus curtii; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 671 Dodson 1982; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 675 Dodson 1982; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1310 Atwood 1992; Vanishing Beauty; Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005