Epidendrum alfaroi Ames & C. Schweinf. 1930 GROUP Neowilliamsia

Flower Closeup Photos courtesy of Daniel Jimenez ©

Common Name Alfaro's Epidendrum [Costa Rican Orchid Enthusiast 1900's]

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia in primary forests at elevations around 700 to 2500 meters as a miniature to small sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with simple, erect, canelike stems enveloped by leafless sheaths, and leaf bearing towards the apex and carrying a few, alternate, articulate, oblong-elliptic, rounded and bilobed and apiculate, coriaceous leaves that blooms in the spring and summer on a terminal, racemose, erect to slightly arching, laxly few flowering, occurring only once, 2" [5 cm] long inflorescence with 4 to 13, simultaneous , non-resupinate, fragrant flowers.

Synonyms Epidanthus alfaroi (Ames & C.Schweinf.) Garay 1977; Neowilliamsia alfaroi (Ames & C.Schweinf.) Dressler 1981

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Lankester's Epidendra Website CR ; *Sched. Orch. 10: 55. 1930; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 1374 Atwood 1989 as Neowilliamsia alfaroi; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 486 Hagsater 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 904 Hagsater 2007