Elleanthus sphaerocephalus Schltr. 1924 SECTION Cephaleleyna
Photo by © Eric Hunt
Photos by Dr Leslie Garay Copyright ©, and the Dr Leslie Garay Archives
Photos by Rodrigo Escobar
Drawing by Copyright ©, Dunsterville
to
Common Name The Sphere-Headed Elleanthus
Flower Size 1/5" [5 mm]
Found from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia as a small to medium sized, warm to cold growing epiphyte occuring along stream beds in rain or cloud forests at elevations of 400 to 2200 meters with an elongate, leafy stem carrying plicate, narrowly ovate-lanceolate, long-acuminate, subsessile, coriaceous, cuneate below into the base leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, 1" [2.5 cm] long, subcapitate, densely many flowered inflorescence subtended with ovate, subacuminate bracts that are longer than the flowers which are held in a conical bunch at the apex of the cane.
The unopened part of the inflorescence has a glutinous-mucousy film over the buds until they open as flowers
" Distinguished by the rather small lip calli situated in the center of the cavity, which has petals .48 x .12" [12 x 3 mm] and the protuberance is placed below the middle of the gynostemium. Both these characters separate it from Elleanthus cynarocephalus the petals are .32 x .06 to .1" [8 x 1.5 to 2.5 mm] and the gynostemmium has a prominent protuberance above the middle." Szlatchetko & Kolanowska 2023
Synonyms Evelyna sphaerocephala (Schltr.) Dudek & Szlach. 2010
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
*Beitrage Zur Orchideenkunde Von Colombia 27:17 Schlechter 1924;
Flora of Ecuador No 9 225[1] Garay 1978 drawing ok;
AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 7 1979 photo;
Orchids of Venezuela An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing ok;
Native Colombian Orchids Vol 5 COS 1994 photo fide;
Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing ok;
Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 drawing ok;
Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003 drawing ok;
Orchids of Bolivia Vol 2 Laelinae Vasquez and Ibisch 2004;
Richardiana 11: 9 Dudek & Szlach 2010 as Evelyna spharocephalus;
Flora of Ecuador No 87 225[3] Orchidaceae Dodson & Luer 2010 drawing ok;
Orquideas de Roirama Luz & Franco 2012 photo ok;
Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol IV:336 Szlatchetko & Kolanowska 2023 as Evelyna sphaerocephala; drawing fide
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