Rhynchostele aptera (Lex.) Soto Arenas & Salazar 1993
Another Plant ensitu Photos courtesy of Edouard Faria ©
Albino Form Photo by © Eric Hunt and his Orchid Species Photo Website
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Common Name The Wing-Less Rhynchostele
Flower Size to 4" [10 cm]
Sinaloa Mx., 1859m elev., Mazatlan-Durango highway, epiphytic on oaks in oak-pine forest
A small to medium sized, cold to cool growing epiphyte, endemic to Sinaloa, Durango, Jalisaco, Michoacan, Guerrerro, Mexico, Moreles, and Oaxaxa states of Mexico in oak-pine forests at elevations of 2000 to 2800 meters, that is a a beautiful member of the genus with a particularly large flower, and wrinkled, ovate, laterally compressed, 3" pseudobulbs emveolped basally by long, triangular, papery, leafless sheaths and are topped with a pair of light green, 10", acute, lanceolate, conduplicate below into the base leaves with pronounced veins. The basal, 5 to 8 " [12.5 to 20 cm] long, 2 to 5 flowered infloresceence emerge with new the growths carrying up to 5, well spaced, showy blooms, the 4" [10 cm] cuppy flowers are crystalline white with bold chocolate brown basal spotting and pointed sepals and petals, arrowhead lip is white with the same brown spotting and a large bright yellow callus and can occur at any time of the year.
Synonyms Cymbiglossum apterum (La Llave & Lex.) Halb. 1983; Lemboglossum apterum (La Llave & Lex.) Halb. 1984; Odontoglossum acuminatum Lindl. 1852; *Odontoglossum apterum La Llave & Lex. 1825; Odontoglossum maxillare Lindl. 1847; Odontoglossum nebulosum Lindl. 1838; Oncidium apterum [Lex] Beer 1854; Oncidium anceps Beer 1854; Oncidium maxillare (Lindl.) Beer 1854; Oncidium rossii Beer 1854; Rhynchostele aptera (La Llave & Lex.) M.A.Soto Arenas & G.A.Salazar 1993
References W3 Tropicos Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; AOS Bulletin Vol 26 No 5 1957 drawing; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as Odontoglossum nebulosum; Flora Novo-Galaciana Vol 16 McVaugh 1985 as Cymbiglossum apterum ; The Pictoral Encyclopedia of Oncidium Zelenko 2002; Icones Orchidacearum 5 - 6 Orchids of Mexico Part 2 - 3 Plate 653 Hagsater & Soto 2002 drawing fide; Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium, Bakers 2006; AOS Bulletin Vol 10 2008 photo
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