Cranichis hieroglyphica Ames & Correll 1942 Wageneri Group 10
Photo by Eric van den Berghe and The I Naturalist Website
TYPE Drawing by Ames & Correll
Type Sheet with photos by © Ames & Correll
LATER
Common Name or Meaning The Hieroglyphic Cranichis [refers to the markings on the lip being like writing]
Flower Size .2" [5 mm]
Found in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador in cloud foreststs at elevations around 1200 to 2400 meters as a small sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with 2, ovate, acute, silvery green, dark veined leaves that blooms in the late summer on an erect, terminal, basally strongly pilose, peduncle to 14" [35 cm] long, provided with with 2 sheathing bracts, rachis to 2" [5 cm] long, cylindrical, almost glabrous, successively many flowered inflorescence with white, lanceolate, acuminate, shorter then the ovary floral bracts.
"C hieroglyphica is similar to Cranichis wageneri but c hieroglyphica has smaller flowers with comparitively blunt floral segments versus narrowly acumiante in C wageneri. Although the petals of both species are ciliate. C hieroglyphica's are obtuse versus long acuuminate, the lip is subquadrate and obtuse and the stripe design from which the name is derived is a peculiar pattern of green stripes with a short central stripe with an additional subhorizontal one on each side which converges towards the middle and has a deeply "U" shaped stripe on each side near the base. The stripes are somewhat thickened. C wagneri has a subcordate to narrowly ovate, acuminate lip with the stripe design composed of three parallel green to brownish stripes with the lateral ones producing retrorse secondary stripes.
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Bot. Mus. Leafl. 10: 61 Ames & Correll 1942
Bot. Mus. Leafl. 10: 93 Plate 11 Ames & Correll 1942 Drawing fide
The Orchids of El Salvador Vol 1 Hamer 1974 drawing/photo fide;
Orchid of Guatemala and Belize Ames and Correll 1985 drawing fide;
Selbyana Vol 10: 96 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 drawing fide;
Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018
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