!Sarcoglottis acaulis (Sm.) Schltr. 1919
Photos by Danny Lentz ©, plant grown by the Atlanta Botanical Garden
Photo courtesy of Weyman Bussey
Drawing by Bot. Mag. 38: t. 1562 1813
Drawing by Dunsterville
Drawing by F Pupulin 2021
to 
Common Name The Stemless Sarcoglottis
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found from El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Darien province of Panama, the Windwards, Trinidad and Tobago, Fr Guiana, Guyana, Surinam, Venezuela, Antioquia and Casanare departments of Colombia, Ecuador, Huanuco department of Peru and Brazil in lowland to premontane wet tropical forests often on steep, wet rocks at elevations of sealevel to 1400 meters as a small to giant sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial with a basal rosette, both present and not at blooming, obovate-elliptic, acute to subacute, velvety green above and duller green-mottled with white below leaves that blooms in the fall and winter on an erect, racemose, to 22" to [55 cm] long, pubescent, provided with 5 to 9, erect, adpressed, pale geen, sheathing bracts, rachis to 8" [20 cm] long, several [5 to 10] flowered inflorescence with erect, linear to linear-lanceolate, acuminate bracts that are longer than the ovary.
The most wide spread of the Sarcoglottis and often misidentified as Sarcoglottis grandiflora , Sarcoglottis neglecta and Sarcoglottis sceptrodes but is distinguished from S sceptrodes by having acute to obtuse lateral sepals versus acuminate. It is separated from S neglecta and S grandiflora by the prominent lip callus They both laterral sepals atht are recurved by bending. recurved
Synonyms Arethusa picta A. Anderson 1807; Gyrostachys picta (Anders.) Kuntze 1891; Gyrostachys sarcoglottis Kuntze 1891; Narica moschata Raf. 1837; *Neottia acaulis Sm. 1806; Neottia picta [And.] R. Br. 1813; Neottia picta [And.] Sims 1813; Sarcoglottis allemanii Barb.Rodr. 1881; Sarcoglottis picta (And.) Klotzsch 1842; Sarcoglottis picta var. variegata Klotzsch 1842; Sarcoglottis saint-marcelensis Szlach., S.Nowak & Baranow 2017; Sarcoglottis speciosa C. Presl 1827; Spiranthes acaulis (Sm.) Cogn. 1895; Spiranthes acaulis var. picta (Anderson) Teusch 1974; Spiranthes allemanii (Barb.Rodr.) Cogn. 1895; Spiranthes picta [And.] Lindl. 1824; Spiranthes speciosa (C. Presl) Lindl. 1840; Synoplectris picta Raf. 1813;
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Exot. Bot. 2: 91 Sm. 1806 as Neottia acaulis
Trans. Soc. London Encour. Arts 25: 199 Anderson 1807 as Arethusa picta nom. nud.
Bot. Mag. 38: t. 1562 Sims 1813 as Neottia picta
Bot. Mag. 38: t. 1562 Sims 1813 as Neottia picta drawing fide
Bot. Reg. 10: t. 823 Lindley 1824 as Spiranthes picta nom. superfl.
Reliq. Haenk. 1: 96 C Presl. 1827 as Sarcoglottis speciosa
Fl. Tellur. 2: 87 Raf. 1837 as Narica moschata
Fl. Tellur. 2: 90 Raf 1837 as Synoplectris picta nom. superfl.
Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 475 Lindley 1840 as Spiranthes speciosa
Allg. Gartenzeitung 10: 106 Klozsch 1842 as Sarcoglottis picta
Allg. Gartenzeitung 10: 107 Klozsch 1842 as Sarcoglottis picta var. variegata
Gen. Spec. Orchid. 2: 288 Barb Rodr. 1882 as Sarcoglottis allemanii
Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 664 Kuntze 1891 as Gyrostachys picta
Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 664 Kuntze 1891 as Gyrostachys sarcoglottis
Fl. Bras. 3(4): 219 Cogniaux 1895 as Spiranthes allemanii
Fl. Bras. 3(4): 221 Cogniaux 1895 as Spiranthes acaulis
Die Orchideen: 112 Schlechter 1915 as Spiranthes acaulis;
* Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 6: 53 Schlechter 1919
Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 as Spiranthes picta drawing hmm;
Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: 317 Hoehne 1945 as S picta
Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: Tab 170 Hoehne 1945 as S picta drawing ok;
The Orchids of Panama: 50 L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946 as Spiranthes acaulis;
Native Orchids of Trinidad Schultes 1960 as Spiranthes acaulis;
Venezuelan Orchids Vol 2 Dunsterville & Garay 1961 as Spiranthes acaulis drawing good;
Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 1 1969 as Spiranthes acaulis drawing not;
Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 43: 693 Teusch. 1974 as Spiranthes acaulis var. picta not validly publ
Flora of the Lesser Antilles Garay & Sweet 1974 as Spiranthes acaulis
Flora of the Lesser Antilles: 69 Garay & Sweet 1974 as Spiranthes acaulis drawing fide;
Las Orquedias De El Salvador Vol 2 Hamer 1974 drawing as Spiranthes acaulis ok/photo hmm;
Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 6 321 - 384 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1975 drawing/photo hmm;
Orchidaceae Brasilenses Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 drawing ok;
Flora of Ecuador No 9 225[1] Garay 1978 drawing good;
AOS Bulletin Vol 49 No 5 1979 as Spiranthes acaulis;
Orquídea (Mexico City), n.s., 7[3]: 1979 as Spiranthes acaulis;
Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing good;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 282 Dodson 1980 drawing fide;
Las Orquedias de El Salvador Vol 3 Hamer 1981 drawing good;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1150 Dodson 1984 drawing ok;
Flora Novo-Galaciana Vol 16 Orchidaceae Mc Vaugh 1985 as Spiranthes acaulis;
The Orchids of Surinam Werkhoven 1986 photo ok;
Orquideologia Vol 17 No 3 1988 as S picta photo plant only fide;
Orchids from The Coast Of Ecuador Arosemana, Jurado, Estrada and Konanz 1988 photo fide;
The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992;
Venezuela; Paraiso de Orquideas Romero 1997 photo ok;
Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 561 Bennett & Christenson 1998 as S speciosa drawing fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 68 No 2 1999 as S picta photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 68 No 2: 138-9 1999 photo fide;
Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 3 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing good;
Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003;
Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 5 Dodson 2004 drawing/photo hmm seems very similar to what I have as S grandiflora;
Orchid Species Of Peru Zelenko & Bermudez 2009 photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 79 #5 2010 as S speciosa photo fide;
Orchids Guianas: 197 S.Nowak & Baranow 2017 as Sarcoglottis saint-marcelensis
Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018
Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia: 282 fig 296 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2019
Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia: 282 fig 296, 297, 298 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2019 drawings fide
Flora Mesoamerica Vol 7 Parte 2 Orchidaceae: 75 MBG UNAM 2023
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