Encyclia holguinensis Soto Calvo, Esperon & Sauleda 2021
Comparison betweeen Similar species
LCDP and Photos by Soto Calvo
Common Name The Holguin Encyclia [A province of Cuba]
Flower Size 1.52" [3.8 cm]
Found in western Cuba in leaf litter and at the base of trees at elevations of 80 to 150 meters as a medium sized, hot growing epiphyte with a stout, creeping, short rhizome giving rise to erect, clustered, obovate pseudobulbs basally enclosed by scarious sheaths and carrying 2, apical, coriaceous, linear to linear-lanceolate, acute leaves that blooms in the spring on an erect, terminal, to 16" [40 cm] tall, unbranched, peduncles slender, erect, distantly several-sheathed, to 15 flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acute, concave, shorter than the pedicellate ovary floral bracts .
" Encyclia holguinensis Soto Calvo, Esperon & Sauleda is similar to E. howardii, E. phoenicea and E. plicata but has distinctive characters that differentiates it from the three species. The auricles of the column of E. holguinensis differs from E. howardii and E. plicata. In E. howardii the triangular auricles project forward and are parallel to the anther while the position of the auricles in E. plicata is .12 to .16" [3 to 4 mm] behind the anther and the auricles are apically truncate. The apex of the auricles in E. phoenicea are also truncate differing it from E. holguiensis. Encyclia holguinensis also differs in the position of the auricles, which are in an intermediate position to that of E. plicata and E. howardii. The callus on the labellum of the E. holguinensis also differs. In E. howardii the callus is two lamellae that merge below the column, apparently closing the access to the pollinator channel, and then it becomes “an elliptic sulcate callus on the isthmus”…, which is “divided and extended nearly to the apex of the mid-lob as three thickened nerves” (Ames and Correll, 1943). While on E. plicata the two lamellae end abruptly and separately leaving a broad pollinator channel. The callus of Encyclia holguinensis ends abruptly as in E. plicata, but the ends of the lamellae converge to the center as in E. howardii to the point where it almost closes the pollinator channel. Encyclia holguinensis also differs from E. phoenicea and E. plicata in the edge of the callus both of which have rounded edges, while in Encyclia holguinensis the callus edge is sharp. In addition, the apex of the lateral lobes of the labellum in E. holguinensis are truncate and the petals are broadly spatulate differentiating it from the other species." Soto Calvo, Esperon & Sauleda 2021
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
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