Trichopilia rostrata Rchb.f. 1872

Another Angle Photos by © Tennis Maynard

Another Angle Photo by © Pieter C. Brouwer and his Nature Photo Website

Common Name The Beaked Trichopilia

Flower Size 1.8" [4.5 cm]

Found in Colombia and western Ecuador in very wet montane forests at elevations of 400 to 2400 meters as a small sized hot to cool growing epiphyte with narrowly rectangular, flattened pseudobulbs carrying a single apical, thick, lanceolate, acute, conduplicate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the winter and spring on a basal, pendant, to 4" [10 cm] long, 2 to 3 flowered inflorescence arising on a newly matured pseudobulb.

This species has 3 strong keels like T oicophylax but differs in them being much shorter and ending below the apex of the column. In front of the central keel then appears a deep central groove which extends beyond the ends of the side lobes of the lip. In fron the of the side keels are 2 much shallower parellel keels which continue to the end of the side lobes of the lip. Another difference between this species and T oicophylax is that the lateral sepals are joined usually at least half to all of their length.

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Refugium Botanicum Reichenbach 1872 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 31 No 10 1962 photo fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 344 Dodson 1980 drawing fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 32 1977 - 2056 Brieger 1996 ; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 5 Dodson 2004 photo fide; Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium, Odontoglossum Alliance Bakers 2006

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