Phragmipedium caricinum (Lindl. & Paxton) Rolfe 1896 SECTION Himantopetalum
Photo by © Lourens Grobler
Drawing by © J Perez C
LATE 
to EARLY 
Common Name The Reed Grass-Like Phragmipedium
Flower Size 3" [8 cm]
Found in Peru and Bolivia in tropical rainforests near waterfalls or on river boulders at elevations of 150 to 1000 meters as a medium sized, hot warm growing, fan-shaped terrestrial or lithophyte with no pseudobulbs and several, imbricate, conduplicate, leaf-bearing sheaths carrying several, linear, acuminate, glossy, dark green, conduplicate below into the base leaves blooming on a basal, 1 to 2' [30 to 60 cm] long, erect, puplish green, shortly pubescent, few to several [3 to 7] flowered inflorescence with 1 to 3 elongate, subremote, tubular bracts and longer, spreading floral bracts that exceed the ovary in length and has successively single flowers occuring in the late winter through early fall.
"Distinguished by the sedge-like leaves, the slender, erect raceme producing individual flowers in succession over a long period of time, sheild-shaped staminode with dense trichomes [mustache] along the upper margins and the saccate lip with a glabrous leading edge." Bennett & Christenson 2001;
CAUTIONOften cited as a synonym of Phragmipedium pearcei [Rchb.f] Rauh & Senghas 1975, but I am going to keep it apart at this time pending better references.
Synonyms *Cypripedium caricinum Lindl. & Paxton 1850-1; Cypripedium pearcei (Rchb. f.) hort. ex J.H. Veitch 1889; Paphiopedilum caricinum (Lindl. & Paxton) Pfitzer 1895; Phragmopedilum caricinum Rolfe ex Pfitzer 1903; Selenipedium caricinum (Lindl. & Paxton) Rchb. f. 1893; Selenipedium pearcei Rchb. f.
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Paxton's Fl. Gard. 1: 39 Lindl. & Paxton 1850 as Cypripedium caricinum;
Bonplandia (Hannover) 2: 116 Rchb.f. & Warsz. 1854 as Selenipedium caricinum;
Orchid.-Buch: 458 Stein 1892 as Paphipedilum caricinum;
* Orchid Rev. 4: 332 Rolfe 1896
Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915 as Phragmopedilum caricinum;
Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 as Selenipidium carcinum drawing good;
Flora Brasilica Vol XII I Hoehne 1940 as Phragmopedilum caricinum drawing ok;
Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965;
Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 3 129 to 192; Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1971;
Orchidaceae Brasilenses Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 drawing fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 52 No 10 1983 photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 55 No 4 1986 photo fide;
Orchids Travel By Air A Pictoral Safari Mulder, Mulder-Roelfsema and Schuiteman 1990 photo fide;
The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992;
Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Lieferung 39 2000;
Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 740 Bennett & Christenson 2001 drawing fide;
Orchid Digest Vol 73 #2 2009 photo fide;
Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko & Bermudez 2009 photo fide;
Las Orquideas del Peru Izerskyy & Bezverhov 2011 photo fide
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