Scaphosepalum triceratops Luer & Andreetta 1988 SECTION Scaphosepalum

Photo courtesy of Patricia Harding.

Flower Closeup

Photo courtesy of Lourens Grobler ©

TYPE Drawing

TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer

to

Common Name The Three Horned Scaphosepalum

Flower Size .4" [1 cm]

Found in Zamora-Chinchipe and loja provinces of Ecuador at elevations of 1800 to 2650 meters as a small to medium sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte to terrestrial with stout, erect ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thickly coriaceous, ellitical, subacute, gradually narrowing below into the stout, channeled petiolate base that blooms in the winter on an erect, rigid, distichous, stout, verrucose, to 20" [50 cm] long, sublaxly many flowered inflorescence arising from low on the ramicaul carrying, conduplicate, oblique floral bracts with 2 to 3 flowers open at any one time.

"Very similar to Scaphosepalum antenniferum and Scaphosepalum pulvinare but distinguished by the sepaline tails being smooth, much longer than teh blades and only slightly diverging. S annnteniferum has sepaline tails theat are shorter than the blades, recurved, diverging and subverrucose. S pulvinare aloso has shorter tails than the blades and they are subverrucose, but they are striaght and held in apposition." Luer 1988

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol V Systematics of Dresslerella and Scaphosepalum Luer 1988 drawing fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 5 Dodson 2004 drawing/photo fide;

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