Oncidium raniferum Lindl. 1837 SECTION Concoloria

Inflorescence and plant Photos by © Luiz Filipe Varela and his Flicker website

Side View of Flower Photo courtesy of Dalton Holland Baptista

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Common Name The Frog Oncidium

Flower Size more than 1/2" [more than 1.25 cm]

Found in eastern Brazil at elevations around 1800 meters as an small sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with bifoliate, ribbed, flat conical to slim conical psuedobulbs subtended by several scarious bracts and carrying 2 to 3 leaf-bearing sheaths with suberect, thinly coriaceous, linear or linear-lanceolate, subacute leaves giving rise to an erect, many branched, spreading, to 14" [35 cm] long, many flowered panicle with lanceolate, acute bracts and small, showy flowers occuring in the summer and fall.

This species, Onc lofgreni and O hookeri are all very similar and according to Brazilians sources are only separated if the area of collection is known as differences are very small and are mostly vegatative. Newer references refer them all as synonyms of Oncidium raniferum but I have left them and their synonyms separate for now.

Synonyms Carenidium raniferum (Lindl.) Baptista 2006; Coppensia ranifera (Lindl.) F.Barros & V.T.Rodrigues 2010; Gomesa ranifera (Lindl.) M.W.Chase & N.H.Williams 2009; Menezesiella ranifera (Lindl.) Chiron & V.P. Castro 2006; Oncidium raniferum var. majus Hook. 1839

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium, Bakers 2006; The Pictoral Encyclopedia of Oncidium Zelenko 2002; AOS Bulletin Vol 78 No 2 2009 photo as Menezesiella raniferum;

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