Gongora tridentata Whitten 1991 SECTION Acropera
Photos courtesy of Danny Lentz, plant grown by the Atlanta Botanical Garden
LATE
Common Name The Three Toothed Gongora
Flower Size .45" [1.6 cm]
Found in Chiapas atate of Mexico and Guatemala in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in secondary vegetation of wet montaine rainforest at elevations of 1100 to 1300 meters as a medium sized, coolgrowing epiphyte with ovoid, sulcate, somewhat compressed pseudobulbs carrying 2, apical, arching, plicate, oblanceolate or narrowly elliptic, acuminate, 3 nerved, longly attenuate into the channeled petiolate base leaf that blooms in the late summer on a basal, 1 to 2 per mature pseudobulb, racemose, 4 to 6 simultaneously flowered, 6" [15 cm] long, erect then pendant inflorescence arising with a new growth with a fractiflex rachis with lanceolate, acuminate, close, scarious floral bracts and carrying very fragrant non-resupinate flowers.
Similar to G galeata but is easily separated by the strap-like epichile of the lip which is laminar, concave, and apically spreading, tridentate to truncate with small obscure lateral lobes.
Synonyms Acropera tridentata (Whitten) Archila, Szlach. & Chiron 2016
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 37/38 pg 2309 - 2436 Brieger 1999; Icones Orchidacearum 5 - 6 Orchids of Mexico Part 2 - 3 Plate 588 Hagsater & Soto 2002 drawing fide; Algunas Orquideas de Mexico Tomo 1 Suarez 2013 photo fide; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018 as Acropera tridentata
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