!Aa paleacea [Kunth] Rchb.f 1854

Photo courtesy of Carlos Hajek and his Peruvian Orchid Page

Common Name The Straw-Like Aa

This species is the type species for the genus. A high altitude Andean species from Costa Rica south to Peru and Ecuador at an altitude of 2900 to 4400 meters and as such is a large sized, cold growing terrestrial of the high Andean meadows with fasciculate roots, a short to 2" stem carrying a few basally clasping, linear leaves in a rosette, which blooms in the spring and summer on a lateral from the base, 10" [25 cm] long, densely many flowered inflorescence enveloped by many, alternate, tubular, acuminate sheaths with the many inverted hood shaped flowers surrounding the top third. The successively opening flowers open white and glabrous but brown in a few days creating a brownish lower flower portion with the apex becoming gradually whiter.

Synonyms Altensteinia paleacea (Kunth) Kunth 1822; *Ophrys paleacea Kunth 1806

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Xenia Orchidaceae Rchb.f 1854 drawing; Orchids of Peru, Vol 1. Charles Schweinfurth 1958 as Altenstenia paleacea; Flora de Venezuela Volumen 15 Prima Parte Foldats 1969 as Altensteinia paleacea drawing good; Flora of Ecuador No 9 225[1] Garay 1978 drawing ok; Native Ecuadorian orchids vol. 1 Dodson 1994 drawing fide; Native Orchids of Colombia Vol 1 COS 1991; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 40 pg 2492 - 2564 Brieger 2000; Genera Orchidacearum Orchidoideae Part 2 Vanilloideae Pridgeon, Cribb, Chase and Rasmussen 2003 drawing ok; Flora Of Ecuador # 76 225[2] Dodson & Luer 2005; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 1 Morales 2009 photo fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing fide

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