Schomburgkia superbiens (Lindl.) Rolfe 1917 SUBGENUS Schomburgkia
Photo by © Arturo Carillo
Photo by Joseph Dougherty
Drawing by Bateman.
Schomburgkia superbiens var alba
Photo by The Orchid Web
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Common Name The Gorgeous Schomburgkia or in Guatemala - La Vara De Senor San Jose [the Wand of St. Joseph] in Mexico - Flor de la Candelaria or Tanal
Flower Size to 5" [to 12.5 cm]
Found in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in open or damp forests on trees or the rocks below them in mountains of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas at altitudes of 800 to 2000 meters where it is a large sized, hot to cool growing epiphyte which forms dense, 6 foot wide colonies with elongated, oblong-fusiform, slightly compressed, furrowed pseudobulbs carrying 1 to 3, apical, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or acute, conduplicate towards the base, very leathery leaves that bloom in the late fall and early winter on an erect to arching, simple, to 4' [120 cm] long, apical, stout, many flowered, racemose inflorescence arising on a mature pseudobulb and has large, lanceolate, acuminate bracts and carrying fragrant, showy, large, long-lasting flowers.
Synonyms Amalia superbiens (Lindl.) Heynh, 1846; Bletia superbiens (Lindl.) Rchb. f. 1862; Cattleya superbiens (Lindl.) Beer 1854; *Laelia superbiens Lindl. 1840
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Edwards's Bot. Reg. 26(Misc.): 46 Lindley 1840 as Laelia superbiens
The Orchids of Mexico and Guatemala Bateman 1843 as Laelia superbiens
The Orchids of Mexico and Guatemala Bateman 1843 as Laelia superbiens drawing fide;
Alph. Aufz. Gew.: 29 1846 as Amalia superbiens
Prakt. Stud. Orchid.: 214 Beer 1854 as Cattleya superbiens;
Ann. Bot. Syst. 6: 418 Rchb.f 1862 as Bletia superbiens
Xenia Orchidaceae vol 2: 46 Rchb.f 1862 as Bletia superbiens;
L'orchidophile; Traité Théor. & Prat.: 364 Lem. ex F.Buyss. 1878 as Laelia superbiens var grandiflora-rosea
Gard. Chron., ser. 3, 3: 200 Rchb.f 1888 as Laelia superbiens var decorata;
Orchid Album 8: t. 383 R.Warner & B.S.Williams 1889 as Laelia superbiens var quesneliana;
Orchid Album 8: t. 383 R.Warner & B.S.Williams 1889 as Laelia superbiens drawing fide;
Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI:557 Orchidaceae Urban 1909 as Laelia superbiens;
Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915 as Laelia superbiens;
* Orchid Rev. 25: 49 Rolfe 1917;
Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 as Laelia superbiens drawing fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 26 No 5 1957 as Laelia superbiens Drawing fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 30 No 9 1961 as Laelia superbiens;
AOS Bulletin Vol 32 No 1 1963;
Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as laelia superbiens;
AOS Bulletin Vol 36 #4 1967 as Laelia superbiens;
AOS Bulletin Vol 38 No 6 1969 as Laelia superbiens photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 38 No 6 1969 as Laelia superbiens var alba photo fide;
Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 10 576 - 632 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1977;
Orchid Digest Vol 42 No 1 1978 photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 7 1979 as Laelia superbiens photo fide;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1159 Hamer 1984 drawing fide;
An Introdution to the Orchids of Mexico Wiard 1987 photo fide;
Cattleyas and Their Relatives Withner Vol 3 1990 photo fide;
The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992 photo fide;
Laelia in Mexico ORQUIDEA (MEX.) 15. OCTOBER 1997 drawing/photo fide;
Guatemala Y Sus Orquideas Behar & Tinschert 1998 photo fide;
Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 42 - 43 pg 2626 - 2762 Brieger 2001 as Laelia superbiens;
Orchid Digest Vol 66 #2 2002 as Laelia superbiens drawing fide;
Icones Orchidacearum 5 - 6 Orchids of Mexico Part 2 - 3 Plate 599 Hagsater & Soto 2002 as Laelia superbiens drawing fide;
Algunas Orquideas de Oaxaca Suarez 2004 as laelia superbiens photo fide;
Flora's Orchids Nash and La Croix 2005;
AOS Bulletin Vol 77 #12 2008 as L superbiens photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 77 #12 2008as L superbiens var alba photo fide;
Guia de Orquideas de Chiapas Carlos Rommel Beutelspacher Baigts 2013 as Laelia superbiens photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #3 2016 as Laelia superbiens photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #12 2016 as Laelia superbiens photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 86 # 1 2017 as Laelia superbiens photo fide;
Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018 photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #2 2019 as Laelia superbiens photo fide;
Orchid Digest Vol 84 #1 2020 photo fide;
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