Encyclia huertae Soto Arenas & R. Jimenez 2003
Photo By © Julio Valdez Partida and his Flickr Orchid Photo Website
in situ in Jalisco Mexico 6/01
Photo By © Jay Pfahl
Photo courtesy of Noble Bashor
TYPE Drawing By © Aguirre-Olavarrieta
Common Name Huerta's Encyclia [Mexican Orchid Enthusiast current] - The Ground Dwelling Encyclia
Flower Size 1.5" [3.75 cm]
Endemic to Sinaloa, Nayarit, Durango, Jalisco, Michoacan, Morelos, Mexico and Guerrero states of Mexico where it occurs at 750 to 1900 meters in elevation as a medium sized, as a medium to large sized, warm to cool growing lithophyte in oak forests or lava flows near tropical forests with large conical pseudobulbs carrying a single apical, strap-shaped leaf and blooms in the late spring and summer on an apical, branched, to 4' [120 cm] long, many flowered inflorescence.
"Similar to E spatella and E aenicta but this one differs in the "larger pseudobulbs and leaves, the 1.12 to 1.52 "[2.8 to 3.8 cm] wide flowers, the unguiculate-spathulate tepals and the lip with rather neat, small lateral lobes and a large midlobe as well as the bowed column" separate it from the others. Quotes by Soto & Jimenez 2002.
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
The Genus Encyclia in Mexico 131-136 pl 64-65 Pollard & Dressler 1974 made mention of terrestrial as E spatella;
Flora Novo-Galaciana McVaugh 1985 made mention of terrestrial as E spatella;
The Cattleyas and Their Relatives Vol 5 pl 74 Withner 1998 as E spatella;
Orquideas del Estado de Morelos ORQUÍDEA (MÉX.) VOLUMEN 16 NÚMERO ÚNICO enero 2002 as E spatella drawing/photo fide;
* Icones Orchidacearum 5 & 6 Orchids Of Mexico Parts 2 & 3 Plate 560 Hagsater, Soto 2003 drawing fide;
Orchids of Mexico Hagsater, Soto, Salazar, Jimenez, Lopez & Dressler 2005 photo fide;
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