Cyrtochilum examinans (Lindl.) Kraenzl 1917 SECTION Cimicifera Lindley

Drawing by © Dunsterville and Garay and Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 6 1976

Another Flower - has erect colum wings

Photo by © Jay Pfahl

Common Name The Examining Cyrtochilum

Flower Size .72" [1.8 cm]

Found in Venezuela and Colombia on siltstone and sandstone in dense forests and on steep ridges with humus at elevations of 1900 to 2000 meters as a medium sized, cool growing terrestrial with clustered, ovoid, lightly compressed, smooth, light olive, finely wrinkled with age pseudobulbs enveloped basally by a few leaf-bearing sheaths and carrying 2, apical, erect, linear, acute, narrowing and conduplicate into the elongate petiolate base leaf that blooms on an axillary, to 10' [300 cm] long overall, climbing, peduncle stout, paniculate, divaricate branched, 5 to 8" [12.5 to 20 cm] between each 12" [30 cm] long branch, each to 5 flowered, many flowered inflorescence.

Pers. Comm : Stig Dalstrom says that the most distinctive feature of this species is the erect column wings. If it does not have them, then it is another species. Very commonly misidentified species.

Synonyms Cyrtochilum centifrancum (Rchb.f.) Kraenzl. 1917; Oncidium centifrancum Rchb.f. 1863; Oncidium examinans Lindl. 1855; Trigonochilum centifrancum (Rchb.f.) Königer & Schildh. 94; Trigonochilum examinans (Lindl.) Königer & Schildh. 1994

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Das Pflanzenreich Odontoglossum/Oncidium Kranzlin 1922 drawing fide; Das Pflanzenreich Odontoglossum/Oncidium Kranzlin 1922 as Cyrtochilum centifrancum; Flora de Venezuela Volumen 15 Parte 5 Foldats 1970 as Onciduim examinans; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 6 Dunsterville and Garay 1976 as Oncidium examinans drawing FIDE; Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 2 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 as Oncidium examinans drawing FIDE; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 33 - 36 2057 - 2308 Brieger 1997 as Trigonichilum examinans photo fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 2 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 as Oncidum examinans drawing FIDE; Lindleyana Vol 16 No 2 2001; Orquideologia Vol. 23 No 2 2004 as Oncidium examinans; Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium/Odontoglossum alliance Bakers 2006; Orquideologia Vol 25 #2 2008; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing fide

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------