Dressleria aurorae H. Hills & D.E. Benn. 1995 Photo by © Bart Schutzman and Taxonomic Revision of Dressleria [Orchidaceae, Catasetinae] Harold Hills Website

Common Name Aurora's Dressleria [Mrs Bennett wife of David Bennett Orchid Enthusiast in Peru current]

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found in Peru in wet montane forests at elevations of 650 to 1300 meters as a caespitose, warm to cool growing epiphyte with fusiform pseudobulbs enveloped by several distichous, imbricating, articulated foliaceous sheaths and carrying 2, apical, oblanceolate, acute, tapering to a channeled petiolate base and blooms in nature in the spring on a basal, lateral, erect, racemose inflorescence subtended by several ovate-acuminate bracts, and arising on a newly emerging pseudobulb and has 5 to 8, non-resupinate, very fragrant flowers.

Similar to D dodsoniana but differs in the opening of the sac is at the base of the throatlike lip and lacks prominent latereal projections. Similar to D eburnea but differs in the lack of refleed sepals and petals, a lack of a callus around the opening of the sac and by having a different scent. Differs from D bennetii by the relatively wider sepals and the lack of a prominent callus on the lip.

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 436 Dodson 1998 drawing not = D dodsoniana; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 44-45 pg 2763 - 2898 Brieger 2001; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide; Las Orquideas del Peru Izerskyy & Bezverhov 2011 photo ok; Hills, H.G. 2012. Taxonomic revision of Dressleria (Orchidaceae, Catasetinae). Phytoneuron 2012-48: 1–28. Published 23 May 2012. ISSN 2153 733X Photo/drawing fide;

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