Encyclia amanda (Ames) Dressler 1971

Photo by David Hunt

THROUGH LATE

Common Name The Lovely Encyclia

Flower Size 1/2" to 3/4" [1.25 to 1.9 cm]

Found from Oaxaca, Chiapas and Quintana Roo states of Mexico and Belize south to Panama in low rain forest as a small sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte at elevations of 40 to 1000 meters with pyriform, rugose pseudobulbs enveloped basally by several, imbricating, scarious sheaths carrying 2 [sometimes one] apical, coriaceous, ligulate leaves and blooms in the winter on a racemose, 4 3/4" [12 cm] long, few [4 to 5] flowered inflorescence arising on a mature or maturing pseudobulb.

This species is said to be synomonous with Encyclia chloroleuca, but I will leave them separate at this time but if so then E chlorolueca takes precedence.

Synonyms *Epidendrum amandum Ames 1923

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchid Digest Vol 34 #5 1970 as Epidendrum amandum drawing fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1016 Dodson 1984 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 56 No 9 1987 photo fide ; Selbyana Vol 10 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 drawing fide; Field Guide to the Orchids of Panama Dressler 1993; Cattleyas and Their Relatives Vol V Withner 1998 photo ok; Harvard Pap. Bot. 5 #2: Carnevali etal. 2001; Icones Orchidacearum 5 & 6 Orchids Of Mexico Parts 2 & 3 Plate 555 Hagsater, Soto 2002 drawing fide; Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005 photo fide; Orchids of Mexico Hagsater, Soto, Salazar, Jimenez, Lopez & Dressler 2005; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018

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