Lockhartia parthenocomos (Rchb.f.) Rchb.f. 1852
Photo by Joaci Luz & Jane Franco and Orquideas de Roirama
Photo by Florida Museum of Natural History/ Oncidinae [Orchidaceae] Website
Drawing by © Reichenbach and the Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria
Drawing © by Foldats
Common Name The Virgin Hair Lockhartia
Flower Size .6" [1.8 cm]
Found in Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil at elevations of 1600 to 2500 meters as a medium sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with pendulous, compressed stems carrying coriaceous, distichous, imbricating, conduplicate, in profile narrowly triangular-lanceolate, slightly falcate, acute leaves that blooms on 1 to few, axillary, towards the apex of the stem, peduncle shorter than the leaves, 1.2 to 2" [3 to 5 cm] long, 1 to several flowered inflorescence with ovate-cordate longer than the ovary floral bracts and carrying cream to yellowy flowers.
CAUTION!!! The drawings by Reichenbach should be correct as he described the species originally but I cannot guarantee that these are the type drawings. The first photo may be correct and could agree with Reichenbach as well as Foldat's but they make no mention of the red centered lip and column only that the flower is cream to yellow colored. The second photo is close to Reichenbach's drawing but it is so small that detail is hard to discern and again no guranteee that it represents this species. Very little real info out there. Foldat's drawing seems to represent L bennetii very well and since it comes from Amazonas Peru it could be from southern Venezuela as well. All in all use extreme caution here! I need better references!
Synonyms Fernandezia parthenocomos Rchb.f. 1852; Lockhartia parthenocomos var. crispula Regel 1856
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Bonplandia Rchb.f 1853; Bonplandia Rchb.f 1855; Bonplandia Rchb.f 1856; Xenia Orchidaceae Rchb.f 1854 drawing; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1959 as L longifolia drawing could be 2nd photo; Flora de Venezuela Volumen 15 quinta parte Foldats 1970 drawing seems to be L bennetii; Orchids of Venezuela, A field Guide Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing could be 2nd photo; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 89 Dodson 1989 drawing not = L tenuiflora; Orchids Travel By Air A Pictoral Safari Mulder, Mulder-Roelfsema and Schuiteman 1990 not = L bennetii; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 31 1905 - 1976 Brieger 1995 drawing ok/photo not = L bennettii; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 6 COS 1998 as L parthenocomos photo not = L bennettii; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 2 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 3 Dodson 2002 photo not = L rugosifolia; The Pictoral Encyclopedia of Oncidium Zelenko 2002; Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium, Bakers 2006; AOS Bulletin Vol 77 No 9 2008 photo fide; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo not = L longifolia; Orquideas del Peru Freuler 2010 photo maybe; Orquideas de Roirama Luz & Franco 2012 photo fide to the first photo; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 3 Ortiz & Uribe 2019 drawing hmm seems to be bennetii; Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 2 Lacaena to Pteroglossa Pupulin 2020 photo hmm
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