sCarnevali & I.Ramírez 2004
Photo by © Luis Alfonso Gallón L.
TYPE Drawing By © Rossana Marrufo/Carnevali & Ramirez
Common Name Betancourt's Encyclia
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in Merida state of Venezuela and Colombia? on trees over cliffs along river at elevations of 1800 to 2000 meters as a small sized, cool growing epiphyte with an abbreviated rhizome giving rise to ovoid to rarely ovoid orbicular, enveloped by 1 to 2 scarious sheaths pseudobulbs carrying 2 apical, rigidly coriaceous, straight, blade almost flat to slightly concave, oblong, obtuse, apex minutely unequal leaves that blooms in the winter on a racemose or with a single, few flowered branch at the base that surpasses the leaves, peduncel and rachis purple-brown tinged, coarsely verruculose, laxly 12 to 16 flowered inflorescence and carrying resupinate, wtdely spreading flowers.
Similar to Encyclia aspera but it has a orbicular to orbicular-ellitic central lobe of the lip versus transversely subquarate rhomboid, the lateral lobes are proportionally conspicuously larger and longer than the gymnostemium and narrower and acute. Also occurs at a much higher elevation than E aspera.
CAUTION I have no real way of verifying this photo determination as there are no more supporting photos of the plant and inflorescence so please use with caution. The type drawing is absolutly correct!!
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Novon 14: 413 Carnevali & Ramirez 2004
Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol IV:458 Szlatchetko & Kolanowska 2023;
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