SECTION Bulbophyllaria [Rchb.f] Griseb. 1864

TYPE = Bulbophyllum bracteolatum Lindl. 1838

These are epiphytes with membraneous, evanescent bracts on the rhizome giving rise to 2 leaved pseudobulbs carrying coriaceous leaves that blooms on a synanthous inflorescence with a pendent peduncle carrying resupinate, spirally arranged flowers with free lateral sepals, erect petals, The anther without a protrusion taller than the anterior margin.

There are 3 species in this section occuring in forests at elevations up to 1600 meters from Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia and Venezuela [CAUTION This list does not include most of the locations of the type species so please use with caution!]

Entries below with an asterix are listed in publications by J J Vermeullen or Shmidt and so are more likely correct than ones without. Species with a question mark in front, seem to me to not conform and so please use with caution.

1. Bulbophyllum aristatum (Rchb.f.) Hemsl. 1884 Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Venezuela

2. *!Bulbophyllum bracteolatum Lindl. 1838 French Guiana, Surinam, Venezuela, Bolivia and Brazil

3. Bulbophyllum cirrhosum L.O.Williams 1940 Mexico

4. Bulbophyllum oerstedii (Rchb.f.) Hemsl. 1884 Colombia, southern Venezuela, Guyana and northern Brazil

5. ?Bulbophyllum pachyrachis (A. Rich.) Griseb. 1864 Florida, the Carribean, all of Central America as well as Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia

6. Bulbophyllum sordidum Lindl. 1840 Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador