IOSPE PHOTOS

!Cyrtorchis arcuata [Lindley]Schlechter 1914 SECTION Cyrtorchis

Photo by Ben Berliner and Willow Pond Orchids

Common Name The Bow-Shaped Raceme Cyrtorchis

Flower Size 1 1/2" [3.75 cm]

A widespread, small sized, warm to cold growing epiphyte or occasional monopodial lithophyte from Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Gabon, Gulf of Guinea Islands, Rwanda, Zaire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Cape Province, Natal, and Transvaal South Africa found most often in woodlands but sometimes in riverine forests at or around elevations of 600 to 2500 meters that has a stout, long, pendulous stem enveloped by persistent, distichous, dark brown leaf sheaths carrying many, robust aerial roots and 6 to 12, oblong, obliquely apically bilobed, fleshy coriaceous leaves that blooms in the spring on an axillary, bracteate, raceme up to 8" [to 20 cm] in length, with up to 10 to 14 waxy, nocturnally, sweetly fragrant flowers with prominent bracts occuring in the summer.

This species is best grown in a basket or mounted on treefern and needs high humidity, bright light, cool to warm temperatures and a cooler and drier winter rest to bloom well.

Synonyms Angorchis arcuata (Lindl. ex Hook. f.) Kuntze 1891; Angorchis sedenii Kuntze 1891; *Angraecum arcuatum Lindley 1866; Angraecum sedeni L. Linden & Barb. Rodr. 1884; Angraecum sedenii (Rchb.f.) N.E.Br. 1882; Angraecum sedenii (Rchb.f.) G.Nicholson 1884; Angraecum whytei (Rolfe) De Wild. 1916; Cyrtorchis arcuata subsp. leonensis Summerh. 1960; Cyrtorchis arcuata subsp. whytei (Rolfe) Summerh. 1960 ; Cyrtorchis arcuata var. variabilis (Summerh.) Geerinck 1988; Cyrtorchis arcuata var. whytei (Rolfe) Geerinck 1992; Cyrtorchis bracteata Schltr. 1915; Cyrtorchis neglecta Summerhayes 1960; Cyrtorchis sedeni [Rchb.f] Schlechter 1918; Cyrtorchis whytei (Rolfe) Schltr. 1918 ; Listrostachys arcuata [Lindley] Rchb.f 1864; Listrostachys sedeni Rchb.f 1878; Listrostachys whytei Rolfe 1898

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of East Africa Piers 1968; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 photo ok; The Epiphytic Orchids of Malawi Morris 1970 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 49 #11 1980 drawing fide; Wild Orchids of Southern Africa Stewart, Linder, Schelpe & Hall 1982 photo fide; Malawi Orchids Vol 1 La Croix 1983 drawing good; Malawi Orchids Vol 1 La Croix 1983 as C arcuata var variabilis drawing good; Rudolph Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 16/17/18 945-1128 Brieger 1985; Rudolph Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 16/17/18 945-1128 Brieger 1985 as C arcuata ssp whytei; Rudolph Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 16/17/18 945-1128 Brieger 1985 as C arcuata ssp variabilis photo/drawing fide; Rudolph Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 16/17/18 945-1128 Brieger 1985 as C arcuata ssp leonensis; Orchids of the Central African Republic- A Provisional Checklist Cribb & Fay 1987; Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 3 Cribb 1989; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997 drawing/photo fide; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Orchidaceae Part 2 Pope 1998; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Orchidaceae Part 2 Pope 1998 as C arcuata su8bsp whytei; Orchids of Southern Africa Linder & Kurzweil 1999 drawing/photo fide; Les Orchidees de Cote d'Ivorie Perez-Vera 2003 photo/drawing fide; Field Guide to the Ethiopian Orchids Demissew, Cribb & Rasmussen 2004; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006 photo fide; Phytotaxa 267 (3) 173 Droissat & Azandi 2016 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #11 2016 photo fide;AOS Bulletin Vol 87 #1 2018 photo fide;

Cyrtorchis arcuata Schltr. var. variabilis ( Summerh. ) Geerinck 1988

Photo by Eric Hunt

Synonyms *Cyrtorchis arcuata subsp. variabilis. Summerh 1960

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of East Africa Piers 1968 photo good; The Epiphytic Orchids of Malawi Morris 1970; The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977 as C arcuata subsp variabilis drawing fide; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997;

Cyrtorchis arcuata subsp. whytei (Rolfe) Summerh. 1960

Differs from the type by the wider 1.6" [3.5 cm] long, glossy dark green leaves, the longer spur 2.4 to 4" [6 to 10 cm] long, and the sepals that are 1.2 to 2" [3 to 5 cm] long,

SynonymsAngraecum whytei (Rolfe) De Wild. 1916; Cyrtorchis arcuata subsp. whytei (Rolfe) Summerh. 1960; Cyrtorchis whytei (Rolfe) Schltr. 1918; *Listrostachys whytei Rolfe 1898

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of East Africa Piers 1968; AOS Bulletin Vol 63 No 10 1994 photo fide; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Orchidaceae Part 2 Pope 1998; Les Orchidees de Cote d'Ivorie Perez-Vera 2003 photo/drawing fide; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006

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