Sobralia fragilis Dressler & Bogarín 2010
Photo/Drawing by © Bogarin Lankesteriana Vol 9 pg 477 2010
LATER 
Common Name The Fragile Sobralia [refers to the fragile lip that is broken easily]
Flower Size 3.6" [9 cm]
Found in Costa Rica at elevations of 740 to 840 meters as a large sized, warm growing terrestrial with dark purplish green mottled with pale green stems carrying broadly elliptic, acute to acuminate, plicate, 7 prominent veined beneath leaves that blooms in the later summer on a terminal, ellipsoid, 1.4 to 2" [3.5 to 5 cm] long, subtended by 2 to 3 foliar bracts, successively single, few flowered inflorescence carrying flowers with greenish white without and green apices, petals that are white or cream with a green median vein without and the lip with a purplish band on each side, the base minutely striped with white and brown within and a yellow midlobe.
"This species is one of the most distinctive known to us. It does not resemble any other species known from Central America. It is, in fact, one of the most difficult to deal with. The base of the lip has about 22 low keels. The keels and the alternating grooves appear as narrow stripes. The keels become much higher in the distal portion of the lip, but they are actually soft and mealy. It is difficult to handle the lip without rubbing off the “keels.” All Sobralia flowers are delicate, but it is almost impossible to handle the lips of this species without destroying the surface. Thus, we have chosen the epithet “fragilis” for this species." Dressler & Bogarin 2010
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Lankesteriana 9: 477 Dressler & Bogarin 2010 photo/drawing fide
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