Bletia purpurea [Lamb.] D.C. 1841
Flowers in situ Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
Photos by © Allen Black.
Another Flower Photo by © Jean Finale. Bletia purpurea [Lamb.] D.C. 1841 Photo by © Arturo Carillo. Plant in situ in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park Photo by © Jay Pfahl Common Name The Purple Bletia - Pine Pink - In Cuba - Candelaria
Flower Size 2" [5 cm]
This species is found from Florida, Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Leewards, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, the Windwards, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, French Guiana, Surinam, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and northern Brazil in dry woods and fields or on cliff faces, or at the base of tree trunks or in swamps up to 2000 meters in elevation where they are small to large sized, cool to warm growing terrestrials or on rocks with subterranean, radish-shaped pseudobulbs with 2 deciduous, elliptic, petiolate, plicate leaves found that bloom in the spring and early summer on a basal, to 5' [150 cm] long, erect, basal, sometimes branching inflorescence with a few to many [9 to 40], color variable, successively opening flowers arising on a mature pseudobulb.
In the Caribbean the natives boil the pseudobulbs and drink the broth as a cure for poisoning from eating bad fish. They also split the bulb and use it as a compress for open wounds as well as making a tea from dried pseudobulbs as a basis for a tonic that has a spicy taste.
Synonyms Bletia acutipetala W. Hook. 1834; Bletia alta [L.] Hitchc. 1893 in part; Bletia expansa Ten. 1829; Bletia havanensis Lindl. 1838; Bletia pallida Lodd. 1822; Bletia pottsii S. Wats. 1887; Bletia pulchella R.H. Torr. 1850; Bletia purpurea var alba Ariza & Jimenez 1960; Bletia purpurea var. pittieri Schltr. 1922; Bletia tuberosa [L.]Ames 1932; Bletia verecunda [Salisb.] R.Br. 1813; Cymbidium altum Willd. 1805; Cymbidium trifidum Sw. 1805; Cymbidium verecundum Sw. 1799; Epidendrum altum (Willd.) Poir. 1810; Gyas verecunda Salisb. 1812; Helleborine americana Steud. 1821; Limodorum altum Jacq. 1797; *Limodorum purpureum Lam. 1791; Limodorum trifidum Michx. 1803; Limodorum tuberosum Jacq. inpart 1709; Limodorum verecundum Salisb. 1796; Regnellia purpurea Barb. Rodr. 1877; Serapias purpurea (Lam.) Poir. 1823
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909 as B alta; Flora of Jamaica Fawcett & Rendle 1910 B alta drawing fide; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915 as B verrecunda; Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 as B verrucunda drawing fide; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 17: 50. Panama Schlechter 1922; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 17: 50. Panama Schlechter 1922 B purpurea var pittierii; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 48. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923 as B verrucunda var pittieri; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 134. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923 as B purpurea var pittieri; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 224. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923 as B purpurea; The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946 drawing good; Orchids of Guatemala and Belize Ames & Correll 1952/85; Flora Brasilense Hoehne 1953; AOS Bulletin Vol 26 No 2 1957; AOS Bulletin Vol 28 No 4 1959; Venezuelan Orchids Vol 2 Dunsterville & Garay 1961 drawing fide; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 drawing ok; AOS Bulletin Vol 38 No 6 1969; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 3 1970 drawing fide; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 3 1970 as B tuberosa; The Native Orchids of Florida Luer 1972 drawing/photos fide; Orchids of Venezuela; An Illustrated Field Guide Dunsterville & Garay 1972 drawing fide; Flora of the Lesser Antilles Garay & Sweet 1974 appendix; Las Orquedias De El Salvador Hamer 1974 drawing/photo fide; Orchidaceae Brasilensis Pabst & Dungs 1975; Orchidaceae Brasilenses Band 2 Pabst & Dungs 1977 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 47 No 6 1978 photo; Orchids of Panama L O Williams 1980 drawing fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 007 Dodson 1980 drawing fide; The Complete Writings on Philippine Orchids Vol 1 Quisumbing 1981; Las Orquideas De El Salvador Vol 3 Hamer 1981 drawing ok; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 618 Hamer 1982 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 53 No 1 1984 photo fide; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas # 43-46 Thuniinae etc 1984 drawing ok; AOS Bulletin Vol 54 No 3 1985 photo fide; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 15 881 - 944 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1984; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 1203 Hamer 1985 as B purpurea var alba drawing fide; Flora Novo-Galaciana Vol 16 McVaugh 1985; Orchids of Guatemala and Belize Ames and Correl 1985; AOS Bulletin Vol 55 No 3 1986 photo fide; Orchids from The Coast Of Ecuador Arosemana, Jurado, Estrada and Konanz 1988 photo fide; Selbyana Vol 10 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 drawing fide; Selbyana Vol 10 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 as B purpurea var alba drawing fide; Fairchild Tropical Garden Bulletin Vol 47 No 2 1992 photo; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1993; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1505 Mora & Atwood 1993 drawing fide; Phylogeny and Classification of the Orchid Family Dressler 1993 photo fide; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993 photo fide; Orquedias Michoacanas Lapiner; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Dodson vol 1 Dodson 1993 photo fide; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 5 COS 1994 photo fide; Orchids of Jamaica Gloudon & Tobisch 1995 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 65 No 3 1996 photo fide; Venezuela; Paraiso de Orquideas Romero 1997 as B landsbergii photo fide; Guatemala Y Sus Orquideas Behar & Tinschert 1998 as B purpurata photo fide; Guatemala Y Sus Orquideas Behar & Tinschert 1998 photo fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000; Botanica's Orchids Laurel Glen 2001; Las Orquedias del Tachira Fernandez 2003 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 7 2004 photo fide; Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005 photo fide; Flora Of Ecuador # 76 225[2] Dodson & Luer 2005; The World's Most Beautiful Orchids Allikas & Nash 2005 photo fide; Flora's Orchids Nash & La Croix 2005; Orchids of Mexico Hagsater, Sosa, Salazar, etal 2005 photo fide; The Orchids of Cuba Llamacho & Larramendi 2005 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 77 no 1 2008 photo fide; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 1 Morales 2009 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 80 #3 2011 photo fide;
Guia de Orquideas de Chiapas Carlos Rommel Beutelspacher Baigts 2013 photo fide; Orchid Flora of the Greater Antillies Ackerman 2014; Orquideas del Valle de Aburra Medellin Colombia Sociedad Colombiana de Orquideologia 2014 photo fide; Orchids of Tropical America an introduction and guide Meisel 2014 photos fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 84 #3 2015 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 84 #4 2015 drawing fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 photo ok Lip calli strange
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