Laelia gracilis Pabst 1979 SUBGENUS Parviflorae SECTION Parviflorae Lindley
Photo By Brigette 0102 and her Flickr Orchid Photo Website
Photo By Nelson Barbosa Machado Neto
LATE
and EARLY
Common Name Graceful Laelia
Found in Minas Gerais state of Brazil in the Serra do Cipo mountains under stunted bushes as a miniature sized, cool growing lithophyte with deep red-purple pseudobulbs carrying a single, apical, deep reddish purple leaf that blooms in the late winter and early spring on a unusually tall, to 14" [35 cm] long, arcuate inflorescence carrying several flowers held well above the leaves.
Now said to be a synonym of L blumenscheinii but I have left the seaprate for now pending more research.
The plant generally has a deep reddish purple cast with fairly bright light with a cool environment. Pot with a coarse mixture and water while growing and give a drier winter.
Synonyms Cattleya gracilis (Pabst) Van den Berg 2008; Hoffmannseggella gracilis (Pabst) V.P.Castro & Chiron 2002; Sophronitis gracilis (Pabst) C. Berg & M.W. Chase 2000
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Bradea 2: 314 Pabst 1979
Orchid Digest Vol 48 No 1 1984 photo fide;
Orchid Digest Vol 49 No 1 1985 photo fide;
Cattleya and Their Relatives Vol 2 Withner 1990 photo ok;
Lindleyana Vol 15 No 2 2000 as Sophronitis gracilis;
Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 42 - 43 pg 2626 - 2762 Brieger 2001
Lindleyana Vol 15 No 2: 117 2000 as Sophronitis gracilis
Richardiana 2: 23 V P Castro & Chiron 2002 as Hoffmannseggella gracilis
Neodiversity 3: 4 Van den Berg 2008 as Cattleya gracilis
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