!Paphinia cristata [Lindley]Lindley 1843

TYPE for genus

Lip Detail Photos by © Lourens Grobler

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Common Name The Combed Paphinia

Flower Size 3 to 4" [7.5 to 10 cm]

Found in Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana in wet forests as a medium sized, warm to hot growing epiphyte occuring at lower elevations around 200 to 1000 meters with tufted, elongate-ovoid, sulcate, slightly compressed pseudobulbs carrying 2 apical, membraneous, soft, broadly lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, acute, plicate leaves and blooms in the autumn to early winter and late spring on a basal, pendant, 4 to 8 " [10 to 20 cm] long, bracteate, 2 to 3 flowered inflorescence arising as a new growth appears and carrying large, showy flowers.

Best grown in small hanging net pots so as to accomodate the pendant and sometimes down driven inflorescence. They like warm even watering while in growth and after the plant has flowered a gradual lessening, but never allowed to dry out completely, until the new growth arrives.

Synonyms Lycaste cristata [Lindley]Benth. 1885; Lycaste cristata var modigliana Nichols 1888; Lycaste randii (L.Linden & Rodigas) Nichols. 1886; *Maxillaria cristata Lindley 1835; Paphinia cristata var modigliana Rchb.f 1888; Paphinia cristata var randii Linden & Rodig 1885; Paphinia modigliana Hort. 1888; Paphinia randii Linden & Rodig 1885;

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915; Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 drawing fide; Iconografia de Orchidaceae Do Brasil Hoehne 1949 drawing fide; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VII Hoehne 1953; AOS Bulletin Vol 27 No 1 1958 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 27 No 5 1958 drawing fide; Native Orchids of Trinidad Schultes 1960; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1959 drawing fide; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 photo good; AOS Bulletin Vol 36 #9 1967; Flora de Venezuela Volumen XV Part 4 Foldats 1970 drawing fide; Orchidaceae Brasilenses Band 2 Pabst & Dungs 1977 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 1 1979 photo fide; Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing fide; The Orchids of Surinam Werkhoven 1986; AOS Bulletin Vol 56 No 5 1987 photo fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Series II Orchids of Bolivia plate 0362 Dodson & Vasquez 1989 drawing fide; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 3 COS 1991 photo not = P posadarum; The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid/Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992 drawing/photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 62 No 10 1993 as Lycaste cristata postage stamp fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 64 No 4 1995 Photo fide; Venezuela; Paraiso de Orquideas Romero 1997 photo fide; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 6 COS 1998 errata = P posadarum; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 6 COS 1998 photo fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 37/38 pg 2309 - 2436 Brieger 1999; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 3 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing good; AOS Bulletin Vol 71 #8 2002 postage Stamp fide; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003; AOS Bulletin Vol 76 No 7 2007 photo fide; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko & Bermudez 2009 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #11 2016 drawing/photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 87 #1 2018 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #11 2016 drawing fide;

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