Restrepia seketii Luer & R. Escobar 1996 Photo courtesy of Rod Rice and Oasis the Journal

Flower Closeup Photo courtesy of Americo Docha Neto

Common Name Seket's Restrepia [Colombian Orchid Enthusiast current]

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Text by Rod Rice--This is a very rare and unique Restrepia taxon. It is presently known to only occur in the very north eastern tip of Colombia. It is extremely rare in cultivation and in the wild, and I had only ever seen the one clone(pictured) in the flesh until just very recently. A single pickled flower from of a batch of Restrepia blooms sent to me by Dr Geoff Stocker, proved to be this species, it was however apparently of Peruvian origin. It was a slightly different colour, same shape and size, except it had a minutely but clearly fimbriate lip. Although this is indeed a deviation to my clone and the type drawing in Luer & Escobars excellent monograph on Restrepia(Icones Pleurothallidinarum XIII), it is without doubt a form of R. seketii

Found in Northern most Colombia in the forested slopes of the Sierra Madre de Santa Marta as a miniature sized, cool growing epiphyte with erect ramicauls enveloped basally by 5 to 6, loose, whitish, compressed, somewhat imbricating, black spotted sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, purplish below, ovate, subacute, rounded base contracted into the twisted petiolate base leaf that blooms in the spring on a slender, 1.6 to 2" [4 to 5 cm] long, successively single flowered inflorescence held ina fascile and arising from the back of the leaf and carrying a thin, tubular floral bract.

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XIII Systematics of Restrepia Luer 1996; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 6 COS 1998;

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