Sarcoglottis biflora (Vell.) Schltr.1920
Photos by © Alexandre "LexLeather" and his Flickr Photo Website
Drawing by © by Friedrich Reinhardt-Verlag, Basel, Switzerland
to 
LATE
EARLY 
Common Name or Meaning The 2 Flowered Sarcoglottis
Flower Size 3/8" [9 mm]
Found in Bolivia and Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo states of Brazil as a small sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial orchid with a basal rosette of ovate, acute, abruptly narrowing below into the clasping base leaves that blooms in the late spring and early summer on an erect, terminal, peduncle 7.5 to 10" [18 to 25 cm] long, provided with a few, spaced, lanceolate, acute sheathing bracts, rachis 3 to 4" [7.5 10 cm] long, 2 to rarely 3 to 4 flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acute, as long as the ovary floral bracts.
Schlechter states that this species is closely related to Sarcoglottis uliginosa but is distinguished by the much wider and more oval leaves and sepals with manifestly wavy margins. The lateral sepals are much narrower than in S ulignosa. The lip is similar in both species but in S biflora the apical blade is wider and larger and it has two thickenings on the disc of the lip.
Synonyms Sarcoglottis lithophila (Barb.Rodr.) Barb.Rodr. 1877; *Serapias biflora Vell. 1831; Spiranthes biflora (Vell.) Cogn. 1895; Spiranthes lithophila Barb.Rodr.1877
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Fl. Flumin. 9: t. 50 Vell 1831 as Serapias biflora
* Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 37(2): 414 Schlechter 1920
Gen. Spec. Orchid. 1: 190 Barb Rodr. 1877 as Spiranthes lithophila
Gen. Spec. Orchid. 1(index): x Barb Rodr. 1877 as Sarcoglottis lithophila
Fl. Bras. 3(4): 217 Cogniaux 1895 as Spiranthes biflora
Fl. Bras. 3(4): Tab 49 Cogniaux 1895 as Spiranthes biflora
Flora Brasilica Fasc 8 Vol XII II 13-43: 325 Orchidaceae Hoehne 1945;
Flora Brasilica Fasc 8 Vol XII II 13-43: tab 178 Orchidaceae Hoehne 1945 drawing ok;
Orchidaceae Brasilenses Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 drawing ok;
Orchids of The Brazilian Central Plateau Menezes 2004 photo fide
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
