Caucaea colombiana Uribe Vélez, Sauleda & Szlach. 2020
Comparison between C colombiana and C kunthiana
Photos by © Hugo Medina
TYPE Drawing by © Hugo Medina
Common Name or Meaning The Colombian Caucacea
Flower Size .68 to .8" [1.7 to 2 cm]
Found in Norte de Santander department of Colombia and Cañar province of Ecuador in primary cloud forests at elevations around 2100 to 3200 meters as a small sized, cold growing epiphyte with cylindrical, obtuse, shiny pseudobulbs enveloped basally by 3, green, imbricating sheaths and carrying a single, apical, leathery, lanceolate-acuminate, basally conduplicate at the base, glabrous, olive-green leaf that blooms in the winter on an erect, basal, opening both on new and older pseudobulbs, 9.2 to 12" [25 to 30 cm] long, with a node enveloped by 3 small, lanceolate-acuminate at the apex, truncated basally bracts, simultaneously 7 to 12 flowered inflorescence carrying resupinate, cinammon scented flowers.
"Similar to Caucaea kunthiana but differs in the shape of the pinkish flowers with a few brown spots versus white flowers with many brown spots, the flattened pear-shaped lip with an entire margin of the basal lobes versus pear-shaped lip folded backwards in the discal part until joining together forming a tube, witha callus with 3 yellow ridges versus a callus with 3 light yellow ridges, the middle one noticeably bulging and the short column with short lateral lobes versus an elongated column with the lateral lobes from the base to the middle somewhat rounded, from the base to the middle part, narrow, cucullate apex versus much larger, noticeably pronounced towards the front, cucullate apex. H. Medina, Hirtz & J.Portilla 2023
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* AOS Bulletin Vol 92: 949 H Medina I Portilla & J.Portilla 2023 photo/drawing fide
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