Vanilla penicillata Garay & Dunst. 1965 SUBGENUS Xanata SECTION Xanata

Drawing by © Dunsterville & Garay and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website

Common Name The Brush-Shaped Vanilla [refers to the lip]

Flower Size 2.4" [6 cm]

Found in southern Venezuela and northern Brazil at elevations around 400 to 500 meters as a large sized, hot to warm growing viney terrestrial with a smooth, sometimes grooved slightly, terete stem with generally a single root at each internode, and carrying s single, bract like, small, acute leaf that blooms on a stout, terete, short, two or so flowered inflorescence

"This is the only leafless Vanilla found in the South America. It was described from a specimen with immature buds. Flowering material has larger flowers than those stated in the original description, with greenish-yellow sepals, white petals and a white lip with a yellow center. It differs from the Caribbean species by its larger flowers, lacking purplish markings, the very long trichomes on the apex of the lip (up to .4" [1 cm] long), and the laceratefimbriate lateral lobes of the lip. These features and the very long column suggest that it is probably not related to the other leafless American vanillas, but to V. ribeiroi, which also has reduced, xerophytic leaves. Vanilla penicillata grows in white sand areas and its stems are less than .2" [5 mm] thick." Soto Arenas & Cribb 2010

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 3 1965 drawing fide; Flora of Venezuela Volumen 15 Parte 1 Foldats 1969 drawing fide; Lankesteriana 9(3): 355-398 Soto Arenas & Cribb 2010;

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------