Arpophyllum giganteum Hartw. ex Lindley 1840
Photo by Weyman Bussey
Photo by Dr Maquis Hodes
Drawing by Dunsterville & Garay
LATE
and 
Common Name The Giant Arpophyllum
Flower Size .32" [.8 cm]
Found from Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia and Jamaica as a medium to large sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte in foothill forests, at elevations of 800 to 1500 meters with cylindric, unifoliate, laterally compressed pseudobulbs enveloped by tubular, scarious bracts, with lanceolate to strap-shaped, lightly falcate leaves that blooms in the late winter through spring on a terminal, 16" [40 cm] long, racemose inflorescence arising on a newly maturing pseudobulb subtended by a spatheceous bract and carrying many spiralling flowers.
Easily recognized by the following charachters, elongate and slender pseudobulbs , a single, leathery leaf and elongate, densely many flowered inflorescence with purple-pink, small flowers."
This species should be grown like a cool Cattleya with ample light and water.
Synonyms Arpophylluum cardinale Lind. & Rchb.f 1854; Arpophyllum giganteum subsp. medium (Rchb.f.) Dressler 2000; Arpophyllum jamaicense Schlechter 1920; Arpophyllum medium Rchb.f. 1866; Arpophyllum squarrosum R.H. Torr. ex Lubbers 1880; Arpophyllum stenostachyum Schlechter 1923
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Ann. Nat. Hist. 4: 384 Hartw. ex Lindley 1840
Bonplandia (Hannover) 2: 282 Rchb.f 1854as A cardinalis;
Cat. Pl. Rar.: 15 Lubbers 1880 as A squarrosum;
Flora of Jamaica Fawcett & Rendle 1910
Flora of Jamaica Fawcett & Rendle 1910 drawing fide;
Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915;
Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 16: 443 Schlechter 1920 as A jamaicense;
Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 32. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923 as A stenostachyum;
The Orchids of Guatemala and Belize; Ames and Correl 1952 Excluding A giganteum
AOS Bulletin Vol 26 No 2 1957;
Enclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965/87 as Arpophyllum spicatum;
Orquideas de El Salvador Vol 1 Hamer 1974 drawing/photo fide;
Orquideas de El Salvador Vol 1 Hamer 1974 as A medium drawing ok;
Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 8 449 - 512 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1976; drawing/photo fide;
Venezuelan Orchids, Illustrated Vol 6 Dunsterville & Garay 1976 drawing fide;
Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 8 449 - 512 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1976 as A medium;
The Orchids of Venezuela: An Illustrated Field Guide Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing fide;
Selbyana Vol 10 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 drawing fide;
Selbyana Vol 10 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 as A medium drawing fide;
Native Orchids of Colombia Vol 1 COS 1990 photo fide;
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1992;
The Manual of Cultivated Orchids Bechtel, Cribb, Laurent 1992 photo fide;
Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995;
The Cattleyas and Their Relatives Volume 5 Withner 1998 as A cardinale photo fide;
Guatemala Y Sus Orquideas Behar & Tinschert 1998 as A medium photo fide;
The Cattleyas and Their Relatives Volume 5 Withner 1998 as A medium photo fide;
The Cattleyas and Their Relatives Volume 5 Withner 1998 drawing fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 68 No 4 1999 as A medium photo fide;
Botanica's Orchids Laurel Glen 2002;
Australian Orchid Review Vol 67 No 4 2002 photo;
Orquedias Nativas de Tachira Fernandez 2003 photo ok;
Flora's Orchid Nash & La Croix 2005;
Field Guide to the orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993;
Orquideas de El Salvador Vol 3 Hamer 1981 drawing fide;
Orquideas de El Salvador Vol 3 Hamer 1981 as A medium drawing fide; ;
Orchids of Jamaica Gloudon & Tobisch 1995 as Arpophyllum jamaicense Schlechter 1920;
Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000 as Arpophyllum jamaicense Schlecter 1920;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 602 Hamer 1982 drawing ok;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1402 Mora Atwood 1992 drawing ok;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 524 Hamer 1982 as Arpophyllum medium drawing ok;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 603 Hamer 1982 as Arpophyllum medium drawing ok;
AOS Bulletin Vol 68 No 4 1999 photo as A medium;
Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide;
Icones Orchidacearum 5 & 6 Orchids Of Mexico Parts 2 & 3 Plate 522 Hagsater, Soto 2002 drawing fide;
Orquideas Nativas del Tachira' Cesar Fernandez 2003 photo fide;
Algunas Orquideas de Oaxaca Suarez 2004 photo fide;
The World's Most Beautiful Orchids Allikas & Nash 2005 photo fide;
Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005 photos fide;
Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005 as Arpophyllum medium photos good;
AOS Bulletin Vol 77 No 4 2008 photo fide;
Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 1 Morales 2009 photo ok;
AOS Bulletin Vol 81 #11 2012 photo fide
Guia de Orquideas de Chiapas Carlos Rommel Beutelspacher Baigts 2013 photo fide;
Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles Ackerman 2014 drawing fide;
Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing/photo fide;
Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol IV:355 Szlatchetko & Kolanowska 2023 drawing fide
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