Oncidium cheirophorum Rchb. f. 1852 SECTION Rostrata Photos courtesy of © Lourens Grobler

Inflorescence Photo by Dale Borders

Flower Closeup Photo courtesy of Danny Lentz, plant grown by Atlanta Botanical Garden

Plant and Flowers in situ Costa Rica Photo by © Wilfried Löderbusch

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Common Name The Hand Carrying Oncidium - The Colombia Buttercup

Flower Size less than 3/4" [less than 1.5 cm]

Found from Nicaragua to Colombia as a dwarf, cool to warm growing epiphyte in lower montane rainforests at elevations of 1000 to 2500 meters often in full sun on larger branches with smooth, lightly brown stained, pyriform, laterally compressed psuedobulbs with a single apical, thin, elliptic-lanceolate leaf that blooms on a slender, erect to arching, to 12" [30 cm] long, densely many flowered panicle arising on a mature pseudobulb that has triangular bracts with fragrant, waxy flowers occuring in the fall.

Synonyms Oncidium cheirophorum var. exauriculatum Hamer & Garay 1974; Oncidium dielsianum Kraenzl. 1922; Oncidium exauriculatum (Hamer & Garay) R. Jiménez 1992; Oncidium macrorhynchum Kraenzl. 1922

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Lankester's Epidendra Website CR ; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 900 Dodson 1983 as O cheirophorum var exauriculatum; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 1240 Dodson 1985; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 1468 Atwood 1992; Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium, Bakers 2006; Oncidium Vol 2 Koniger 2005; The Pictoral Encyclopedia of Oncidium Zelenko 2002

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